A Cup of Rain
by Valerianna
Summary: Sakura woke up beneath a cliff when she was 18, and yet she has no idea who she was and how she was married to Uchiha Sasuke. Not AU. Note: Cha. 26 hints rape. HIATUS. THIS IS BEING RE-WRITTEN AS "DESIRE FOR A STAR".
1. Prologue

**A/N:A million thankyou to Dear Sophee~ SapphireRivulet  
><strong>

**In order not to ruin the mood at the end I will post all I have to say at the front.**

**I worked very hard and planned on this story, please RandR. **

**Huh, I guess I dont have much to say after all...**

**Oh, if anyone can guess the plot based on this crappy prologue I will be very surprised.**

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><p><strong>PROLOGUE<strong>

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><p><strong>3 Years After the Fouth Shinobi War<strong>

"Kakashi is dying."

In the forest, the copy ninja's three pupils went still as Pakkun, Kakashi's ninja hound, painfully presented the news.

His final wishes were for Naruto to go on and be the next Hokage.

Two simple messages, that sent the three of them to hell.

They were in a dense forest. Beyond the trees was a cliff.

Sakura breathed heavily, and leaned back against a tree trunk. Her brow was drenched with sweat. Her breath was coming in short, staccato gasps. Naruto stood beside her, his heart thumping with panic, his face smeared with blood and dirt.

Kabuto, who watched from afar, laughed sadistically.

"Hokage-Sama," Kabuto yelled out tauntingly. "What will you do? What will you choose?"

Naruto snarled at Kabuto, before he turned towards Sakura. "Sakura-Chan, can you stand? Sakura-Chan, please, please, please don't give up on me now. Please… Please..."

Sakura watched as the tears swelled up in Naruto's cerulean eyes. Memory; it's such a powerful thing. Who knew that there could be so much emotion, so much love hidden in a few simple words?

She raised her hand, and wiped away his tears. He whimpered in fear and resentment.

"Baka..." She said gently, and found that every syllable was hard to pronounce. "Don't... Cry. Go... Live your dream... Be Hokage..."

"I can't leave you here, Sakura-Chan! I can't do this! How can I be Hokage if I can't even save my friend?" He yelled, shivering with anger.

'Stupid, stupid Naruto,' Sakura thought as she closed her eyes and smiled fondly at her memories of him. 'Always so dumb, so blunt... There isn't a single crook or twist in his mind. He's like fire: A living, breathing, ball of warmth. '

Perhaps that was why she loved sunshine so much.

Pakkun started to plead again. "Naruto-San, I advise that you go back to the village as soon as possible. Konoha is under immediate threat, there are lives at stake..."

Kabuto's laughter echoed throughout the forest.

Sakura coughed violently, and to the Naruto's horror, blood smeared across her hands as she tried to hide it.

"Sakura-Ch-"

"Get out of my way."

Naruto looked back, and saw Sasuke standing behind him.

Sakura's vision was blurred, but she recognised Sasuke's outline and smiled softly. He didn't desert her after all.

She was only nineteen years old, but she would never live to see twenty.

Fate had been so cruel to her. Throughout her life, fate had forced her to love this man. But that man was destined for revenge.

He was a curse placed upon her. She was a curse placed upon him.

She wondered if, when he showed her mercy above others, it was a sign of kindness and affection. Or was it only another way to manipulate her?

"Baka, go back to your God damn village now. And take care of the trash for me in the future," Sasuke said in a monotone, jerking his thumb back at Kabuto.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. "Will you take care of Sakura-Chan?"

Sasuke sneered. "Of course. She's my wife."

These words seemed so far away, like a beautiful dream; a broken fantasy.

"Naruto, I'll be fine," Sakura reassured softly.

Naruto growled in anger as he summoned a messenger frog and asked it to transport him back to the village.

Kabuto laughed again, "Sasuke-kun… Pick her and you are de-a-a-a-a-d…"

Sasuke ignored him, and instead stepped up to Sakura, who was having trouble sitting up. She stabled herself, but her body was becoming limp.

She wished that she could see his face more clearly one last time. See the face of the boy she had loved all her life.

Sasuke picked her up in the gentlest of ways, and smoothed her messy hair back from her eyes.

"Didn't you say... You'd... Leave me here to rot?" Sakura asked, smiling gently, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Stop talking," he ordered in a soft voice, his face the image of pure agony. His heart was being ripped to pieces from seeing her, once again, on the verge of death.

Why was fate so cruel to her? She was always walking the thin line of life and death over and over. Life had tortured her so much, and it was driving him towards insanity.

She grabbed onto his robe, and leaned her head against his chest. "Sasuke-kun..." Sakura whispered. "I...I... I'm so tired... Of everything..."

The sky was howling in pain.

It was raining.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you to SapphireRivulet, my dearest Beta~~~ LOL **PLEASE GO CHECK OUT HER STORY-I'LL NEVER SAY**. In my opinion it is very well written and she is a very talented author. Mhmm. I should have put this at the end author's note. Once you start reading her story you won't stop haha. Remember to comeback to this one time to time~~

Now, as to this story: this story is not set in an alternate universe. In fact, I try to stick to the plot of Kishimoto's as closely as possible. Even up till today's chapter…  
>Warning, I will desperately try to stay in character. But some OOC will be<br>displayed that will be essential to the story plot.

Enjoy~

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><p>The girl's eyes fluttered open to dazzling sunlight.<p>

She woke up beside a cliff, and her whole body was aching from injuries. She first looked up to the cerulean sky, then down at the brown earth.

When she tried to remember her name,s he came up blank.

Not only that, but she had forgotten where she came from, why she was there, and everything that had happened throughout her life.

She supported herself, and realized that her basic medical training was still lingering in the crevices of her mind.

She was grateful for that, because she was hurting all over. Little scratches and bruises were everywhere, and they hurt a lot.

Did that mean that only her peripheral memories had been erased?

How could she be so careless?

Well, she didn't really know what kind of person she was before, so how could she know if she was a careless idiot or not?

She crudely bandaged her wounds and stood up with difficulty. The food in her knapsack was spoiled. But, thankfully, there was still a little money and  
>water left. She drank the water, and examined her surroundings.<p>

She was standing at the bottom of a cliff. It wasn't very steep, nor did it look that dangerous. But it seemed to be a good place to dispose of any trash.

Perhaps that was how she had gotten there: Thrown away, like trash.

She tried to climb up the cliff face a few times, but her attempts were futile. So, she tried to apply chakra to her left hand (her right was broken), and it worked.

It took her the better part of an hour, but she finally got over the cliff.

Once she'd staggered over the edge of the cliff, she started to think. A lot of questions had to be answered. First: Where the hell was she? How was she  
>going to get to… Wherever she needed to go? What was her purpose?<p>

Who was she?

She really had forgotten almost everything.

She sat there idly in the forest for a while, trying to regain her strength after the exertion she had suffered from scaling the cliff. She felt so lost.

Where was she going to go?

She wanted to find out where she came from. Why was she at the base of a cliff? And why the hell was her hair such a disgusting shade of pink?

Ahead on the nearby forest path, a small carriage was driving past. She quickly ran up to it, so as to ask for a ride to the nearest town.

When the person driving the carriage heard her request, he had a strange look on his face. Not to mention that he was also extremely pale.

He ignored the pink haired girl, so she hopped on the back of the carriage, and just assumed that he didn't mind.

The carriage drove on.

The sky became soon became cloudy, and it began to drizzle. The girl used a spare bed sheet to make a mini tent for herself so that she wouldn't get wet.

It was then that she saw a gate approaching.

The carriage drove in, but she was left outside.

Sakura held the sheet above her head and asked a nearby guard, "May I go in?"

The guards looked at each other, before one finally said, "Miss, would you mind waiting for a few minutes? My partner has just gone to inform the  
>Master."<p>

Sakura was puzzled. "Why would you need to inform your Master? I only want to seek shelter and food."

The guard didn't speak. Instead, he just stood there awkwardly.

So the girl waited until the messenger came back. The messenger said, "The Master isn't in the village at the moment."

Sakura felt like punching someone. "Just let me in!" she cried angrily.

The guard had no choice but to let her in. In the end he even apologized.

"Please forgive me for my rudeness, Miss Sakura."

"What?" Sakura turned to him. "Do you know me?"

The guard nodded, looking even more uncomfortable.

"My name is Sakura?"

The guard looked like he thought Sakura had gone insane. Sakura tried to ask him more questions, but he refused to speak.

"I can't believe my name is Sakura," Sakura muttered. "That is so typical. It's so dull, it disgusts me. I wonder whether my parents were just lazy or stupid. 'My child has pink hair! Of course she must be named Sakura!'" Shesaid in a high pitched, squeaky voice.

She walked into the village.

This village was not what most people would call 'harmonious'. But with her memory loss, how would Sakura know what a peaceful village would look like?  
>She identified the stall by signs swinging above. She sat down at a booth that had 'Steamed Buns' written above it.<p>

"Two vegetable steamed buns, please" she asked as she counted out her money and examined the chalkboard lying against the back wall.

The man who looked to be the vendor was a beefy man of around forty years of age. He looked surprised to see her.

"I don't sell vegetable buns here," he replied rudely.

"Do you know me too?" Sakura inquired, amazed.

The vendor was looked perplexed. "Don't you remember me?"

"No, I don't remember anything," Sakura said truthfully. "May I have two buns please? Whatever flavor is fine."

The man growled, but he pulled out two white buns from underneath a blanket that covered the oven, then he set the two buns on a plate before her.

She gulped then down in two minutes flat, and set some coins on the table. "Do you know where I can find a place to sleep? Is there a cheap inn or  
>shelter nearby?"<p>

The man stared at her with his mouth wide open for almost a minute, before he recovered and said, "Ahem, uh… There's a place down the street. It's called  
>Ruka's Inn."<p>

"Thanks," Sakura replied happily. But a worried expression quickly passed over her face. "Will it be expensive? I don't have a lot of money."

The man's jaw literally dropped around two inches.

Sakura quickly walked out of the vendor before she was accused of unhinging his jaw.

She thought about her previous conversation for a while, before she concluded that she must not have been a very nice person.  
>If she was nice, then why was everyone surprised by her kindness?<p>

'This town is so weird,' she thought. It was true. There were barely any civilians walking on the streets, and there were big burly men carrying knives  
>and swords everywhere.<p>

As if to further her suspicion, when she walked into the inn, the owner was obviously surprised to see her, because she hissed, "What are you doing here?"

Sakura realized something.

She was not wanted in the town, and she should get out of it as soon as possible.

And, the barely traceable chakra signature of several people had been following her from the moment she stepped foot into the village.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you to SapphireRivulet, my dearest Beta~~~ LOL **PLEASE GO CHECK OUT HER STORY-I'LL NEVER SAY**. In my opinion it is very well written and she is a very talented author. Mhmm. I should have put this at the end author's note. Once you start reading her story you won't stop haha. Remember to comeback to this one time to time~~

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

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><p>Sakura was in a pickle.<p>

She had stepped into a village that wasn't particularly fond of her, and she was being followed by several chakra users. To make it even better, they could hide their chakra signatures pretty well.

She didn't know if she would be able to escape unharmed or not.

And worst of all, she barely had any weapons left. She opened her bag and found a couple of kunai. That was basically it.

Shit…

Sakura glanced at Ruka; the owner of the inn. She was obviously a ninja, and she was looking at Sakura with venom.

Sakura raised a fist.

Almost immediately, she felt people charging in at her. She quickly slammed her fist down to the ground, and rammed it in to the earth with all the power she could muster.

The earth tore up for a couple of hundred meters.

She quickly ran.

She ran in opposite the direction from whence she came, because the people who were searching for her were probably at the gates.

It was horrible. She'd forgotten that her right arm was broken, so now it was searing with pain and agony.

She ran as fast as she could. Past the vendors, the shops, the citizens... She nearly reached the village edge. The forest was almost in reach, when someone grabbed her by her arm and tossed her down on the ground.

She crashed against the ground with a loud _'Bang!' _

Sakura felt tears welling up her eyes. "What the hell was that for?" She yelled, searching for the person who did that to her.  
>Standing in front of her, was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.<p>

Not that she had seen a lot of people, but the first thought that popped into her mind was, _'Man, he is so goddamn hot.'_

He wore a casual white robe, with some bandages wrapped around his wrist and chest. His black hair waved in the wind, the sunlight dance on his hair, as if emphasizing on his perfect features. But his eyes were so deep and so cold she felt that they could easily freeze hell over.

Sakura stared at him in awe. She had completely forgotten about her wrist until she tried to sit up. When she stumbled back to the ground, she said in a bitter voice, "My wrist is broken."

The boy walked over and examined her wrist.

"It's not broken. It's merely displaced," He said, and in the next second, he re-placed it with a _'Crack!'_

Sakura screamed in agony.

The boy was looking at her with irritation and curiosity at the same time.

"You could've snapped my wrist off!" Sakura cried.

"If I wanted to, it would've been off a long time ago," He replied.

Sakura blinked a few times, and asked, "Why did you throw me? Where are the guys chasing me?"

"They backed off," he explained.

"Why?" Sakura questioned.

"Because I'm here."

"Who are you?"

In Sakura's opinion it was a valid question, but at the question, the boy's eyes turned a frightening shade of scarlet, the black commas in the center spinning like mad. He narrowed his eyes dangerously, and looked at Sakura with such intense emotions she thought she would melt. And not in a good way, mind you.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke," he told her, his voice low.

"Well, Uchiha Sasuke," Sakura began with a smile, "I think my name is Sakura. That's what the guards at the gates told me, anyway. Has anyone ever told you that you're really pretty?"

Sasuke leaned close and stared at Sakura for a full 10 seconds. Sakura was suddenly so scared she almost forgot to breathe.

At last, Sasuke backed off, and he let go of Sakura's arm.

"Excessively so, by you," Sasuke answered.

"You know me?" Sakura asked, even though she was not surprised at all.

"Yes," Sasuke assented, lifting Sakura up roughly like a small animal.

"How? What am I to you? Were we friends?" Sakura fired the questions at him like stray kunai, as Sasuke dragged her by her collar.

Sasuke sneered. "Hardly."

"Then how do you know me?" Sakura asked, feeling more and more desperate by the second.

"You were my wife," Sasuke explained calmly.

Sakura froze.

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><p>AN: Muahaha, this is a cruel cliff hanger, I know.

Prizes to anyone who can guess how they got married.

Sorry for the late update. If reviews are good I will update another chapter within 24 hours. Please R&R~


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you to SapphireRivulet, my dearest Beta~~~Please go read her stories too!

Thank you to anyone who has the strength and the patience to still follow this story.

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

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><p>"Wi...wife?" Sakura asked, breathless.<p>

"Yes," Sasuke said with annoyance.

"How...? How? How old am I?" Sakura demanded.

"Eighteen. Now can you shut up?" Sasuke growled.

It wasn't really a question. Something in his tone made Sakura realize if she didn't do what he said, she'd be history.

So she did shut up.

Sasuke dragged her all the way to the edge of the village. The other edge, where there was a waterfall crying off the precipice of another cliff. There was a large grass field in font, but there was no sunshine, so everything seemed dull and boring. He jumped into the waterfall without fear, and water splashed Sakura for a second, before she found herself inside a cave.

It was only after Sasuke tossed her on a carpet that he took off his cloak and stated, "You lost your memory."

"Obviously," Sakura answered, looking around the place.

He pondered that for a minute, then asked, "How?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't have amnesia now, would I?" Sakura countered.

Sasuke looked closely at Sakura, and asked, "Do you know where you came from?"

"Not really," Sakura said.

Sasuke leaned back. He closed his eyes and sighed in fatigue.

"How did I become your wife?" She queried.

"Shut up," Sasuke said.

"I want to file for a divorce," Sakura proclaimed.

Sasuke suddenly appeared inches from Sakura's face in a flash.

"You are the one who begged me, who swore your love and devotion to me for the rest of your life. Did you forget all of that too?" Sasuke hissed out, his eyes red and spinning once more.

Sakura stared at his furious face, and tears welled up in her eyes.

He quickly calmed down and whispered her name. "Sakura."

His voice was so soft, so deep. When her name rolled off his tongue it felt like honey dripping over silk. It filled her entire heart with happiness, as if someone had taken her heart and dipped it in liquid candy. She wanted to blush, to scream in joy. She never knew that a name coming from him would be so mesmerizing, so powerful. It almost hypnotized her.

For the first time ever, she liked her name.

Her cheeks were flushed, and she couldn't stop shivering.

Sasuke suddenly smiled. It was not a sneer, instead the tiniest curve of his lips. He leaned closer, and kissed her forehead.

"Sasuke-Kun... I…" Sakura stuttered.

He stiffened in surprise. "What did you call me?"

"Sasuke-Kun?" Sakura repeated, feeling puzzled. That was normal, right?

Sasuke stood up and looked away. "Go take care of yourself. Third door on your left."

He walked into another room in the cave like place, leaving Sakura confused.

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><p>(€-_-^)<p>

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><p>She hadn't called him that in almost 2 years.<p>

Sasuke raked a hand through his hair. She had dropped the suffix 'Kun' and replaced it with 'San' or sometimes nothing at all, for the past _two years_. And without knowing, it became a habit, and it was too late to change.

He had used the Sharingan countless times to dig into her mind, looking for what she might be hiding. But none came. She had really, truly, forgotten everything.

He thrust his fist against a wall.

How could she forget everything? Was it selective? Did she want to forget? Was it that painful for her?

Sasuke felt an urge of wanting to shake the girl until she remembered every little detail. But only the good ones, not the ones that made her want to curl up in a corner and die.

It was so strange. To look at her, and see the girl inside her that first appeared in his life ten years ago, when everything was still naïve and innocent.

Dear Sakura... Everybody else changed so drastically with time, yet you went backwards, and you don't know what time did to us.

Sasuke clenched his fist.

Was it a curse or a blessing? To have forgotten everything… And at such a crucial time too.

Perhaps it was God's way of telling him that he should take advantage of the situation.

Sasuke leaned against the wall helplessly, and closed his eyes.

He was going to hell for this. He knew it.

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><p>(~^_=$)<p>

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><p>Sakura walked into the room, and quickly realized that the room had been previously occupied by some other girl.<p>

There were small dead flowers on the windowsill. There were some picture frames that were empty, and there was some clothing in the closet.

The bed and sheets looks so familiar, too.

She opened up the closet and pulled out some clothing. They were all her size.

Hmm… Perhaps it was her last room? Sakura pondered the idea.

But if she was married to Sasuke, then why didn't share the same bed?

And if they were married, does that mean they... They... _Did it?_

She blushed, suddenly finding that having such a beautiful husband wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

And he probably owned that land, seeing as everybody in the village had referred to him as 'Master'.

She wondered why they didn't refer to her as 'Mistress'.

Sakura was pondering all those things when she took a shower and cleaned herself. She later used her first aid kit to clean some cuts and bruises. She sadly found out that she had run out of bandages.

After her cleansing, she looked in the mirror and was taken aback.

"Is this what I look like?" She asked herself.

Alright, now she felt really lucky that Sasuke was her husband.

But for the moment, she was too tired to care. She flipped the sheets over and began to sleep.

She slept for eighteen hours.

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><p>AN: Please, MUSE, gave me the inspiration and strength (reviews) to continue this story=-=

Also, I am very close to finishing this story. This story will take a total of 50 chapters.

Update WILL be consistent.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you to SapphireRivulet

Chapter 5

Sasuke stared at Sakura while she slept peacefully.

Was she a pig?

She had been sleeping for almost twenty hours! Of course she would wake up once in a while to go to the washroom or to get a drink of water, but apart from that, she had been asleep.

And she was still sleeping, her mind drifting in the illusion of dreams.

He wondered if she had forgotten her sense of security, too. He had been standing over her bed for quite a while, and she still hadn't deigned to wake up.

"Sakura," he called out to her, gently shaking her shoulders.

Sakura merely rolled over and continued to sleep.

Sasuke was at a loss for words.

"Sakura, you need to wake up and eat something," Sasuke said.

Sakura continued to sleep, while unconsciously shooing off Sasuke's hand; he was bothering her sleep.

Sasuke had no choice. He put his hands on Sakura's belly.

And it woke her right up.

"What the hell?" Sakura yelled, disorientated in her half-asleep state. "What's so cold?"

"My hand," Sasuke replied honestly.

"Why was it on my stomach?"

"You wouldn't wake up," Sasuke stated earnestly.

"Couldn't you just wake me up like a normal person would?" She asked, rubbing her tummy.

"I tried. Come, it's time for breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Sakura thought about it for a moment, before she decided to not think about it. "I'm going to take a

shower."

"Be quick," Sasuke answered in a monotone. He was finding the 'new' Sakura far less annoying than the 'old' Sakura. But the when Sakura had had her memories, she did not disturb him as much. Perhaps the 'new' Sakura hated him.

Sasuke smiled bitterly. He didn't know if that would be a blessing or a curse.

Sakura bounced out to the table and sat down. She felt like a bright ball of sunshine and flowers. As if she brought life to the place.

"What are we eating?"

"Egg rolls and Gyoza."

"That's an odd choice for breakfast. I thought milk was what's good for breakfast."

Sasuke snapped his fingers. Someone came out of nowhere and was before them in a heartbeat. "Get me milk," Sasuke

demanded. The person was gone in a flash.

"Whoa, what was that?" Sakura admired the unknown persons speed.

"My guards," Sasuke said.

"Guards? You have multiple guards guarding you?"

Sasuke ignored her and ate.

Sakura thought for a moment, before she asked, "Sasuke-kun. Have we slept together?"

Sasuke choked on his mouthful.

She quickly patted him on the back and waited for him to finish coughing.

"What do you think? You are my wife," Sasuke wheezed, trying to regain his breath.

Sakura sat back down once it was apparent that Sasuke could once again breathe properly. "There are so many questions that I want to ask you. I don't know where to begin. What was my family like? What was your family like? Why did we get married? More so, how did we get married? Where do I come from? How was-"

Sasuke stopped her by raising a hand. "I will tell you all of it in the future. Now you need to eat."

Suddenly, the man from before appeared again. He bowed down low to Sasuke and said with a trembling voice, "Milord, there was no milk left in the village."

Sasuke frowned, before he spoke in a deadly whisper. "Should I do it? Or should you do it yourself?"

The man shook violently as he replied. "Please do not dirty your fingers, master. I will do it myself."

And then, he snapped one of his fingers off with his hand.

Sakura watched in horror. She wanted to scream but no sound came out.

Blood gushed from the bloody stump, and Sasuke waved his hand to dismiss the man. "Leave, before you dirty this place up."

The man left, leaving no trace of blood on the floor. He was very careful.

Sakura ran back to her washroom and vomited. She sat on the cool tiles of the floor, having locked the door so nobody would come in.

She splashed cold water on her face to make her mind clearer. Okay. Three things had happened. Firstly, she had found out that she was married. Secondly, she had found out that she was married to a very beautiful and strong guy. Third, she had found out that she was married to a sadistic monster.

The revelations all hit her at the same time. She was terrified.

She found herself praying that she wouldn't be one of those guys who served him. Whose punishment would be snapping their fingers off.

Sakura hated to think what the punishment for actual screw ups would be.

She jumped as she heard some knocks. "Sakura?"

Somehow, his voice didn't sound so soothing anymore.

"H... Hai!" Sakura replied, feeling colder by the minute.

"Come on out," Sasuke said.

It wasn't a request.

It was an order.

She couldn't stop shaking. She tried to calm herself by running hot water over her hands. She had slept with the guy, right? He couldn't be cruel to her... Could he?

She opened the door slowly, and found Sasuke standing outside with a carton of milk.

"Here," he offered, handing the carton over to her. "Drink some. You must be thirsty."

Sakura shook so much that she spilled the milk, and Sasuke frowned.

Sakura bit back her tears and fear, and quickly said, "I'll clean this up. Thank you for the milk."

Sasuke smirked. "I understand now. Were you afraid?"

She didn't know whether to shake her head or nod.

"Sweet little Sakura. So much compassion for others." Sasuke smiled. "I'd almost forgotten about that."

"Wh... Why?" Sakura asked.

"Don't you remember?" Sasuke asked innocently. "You loved to snap the fingers off of others."

... Oh My Gawwwwwwwwwd.

Sakura's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fainted.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my beta. Please go read their stories too.

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

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><p>Sakura leaned over the kitchen counter and started to grind Moongrass into pasty herbs.<p>

It was a long and excruciatingly tedious process that she really didn't like to do, but the sheer pressure of being around Sasuke had her do it anyway.

Sasuke was staring at her.

Right then.

At that very moment.

She wondered. Surely being the leader of a whole village meant that he would have better things to do than stare at her all day? Then again, everyone in the village looked as if they were being pressured to be law abiding citizens through the fear and threats that were made should any of them grow restless and rebellious. So really, he didn't have to do much. Probably just walking around would scare everybody off.

The place that they resided was called the Land of Rivers, she'd soon found out. There were signs everywhere stating exactly that.

Sakura sometimes wondered why she was married to the leader of an entire village, even though she had seen on maps that it wasn't a very big one. She wondered if she was once a poor farm girl of low status, and Sasuke had come and swept her off her feet, riding away with her into the sunset-riddled horizon…

Sometimes, Sakura had a wild imagination.

She had been careful. She had been subtly trying to avoid Sasuke. But it was so obvious that he realized it. He looked like the kind of person who was completely omniscient.

"Sakura," Sasuke said her name softly.

Damn it. There it was again. Her heart felt like it had been thrust into a jar of the sweetest honey, and there was so much of it, that the honey overflowed.

She resisted the blush that was creeping up her cheeks like a rose colored vine, but failed miserably.

"Yes?"

"Don't you have any questions?"

"Uh..." She did. Of course she did. She had so many questions, but she didn't know if she could ask him. Unlike his guards, she preferred to have her body completely intact.

But seeing as he had mentioned it, she had no choice but to ask him a question.

She thought for a moment and decided upon a fairly not sensitive topic. "Was I born here?"

"No, you were born in a land called Leaf," Sasuke replied patiently.

Leaf? Sakura supposed that that was as good name as any. If they have a Land of Rivers then they must have had a Land of Leaf.

"Is that what my headband is?" Sakura asked, pointing to the shape etched into the metal of her forehead protector.

"Yes."

"Oh. I thought it was a hidden snail cult..." Sakura muttered to herself.

Sasuke's lips twitched.

"Who were my parents?" Sakura asked.

"I didn't know them very well." Sasuke thought hard, his eyes glazing over slightly at some old memory. "They were very kind people."

Sakura didn't inquire any further about her parents. Best to leave the past in the past, lest it reveal something twisted and unwanted. She thought for a moment, before bringing up a seemingly safe topic. "Who were your parents?"

Sasuke frowned.

Realizing her mistake, she immediately continued, "Never mind! I didn't ask anything! Just pretend that I didn't say anything!"

Sasuke's eyes flickered with a hint of annoyance, before a sigh escaped his sinful lips. "There's not much to tell. My family was pretty boring."

Sakura understood. "Oh. Okay then. Just like my parents were, I presume."

Sasuke made no comment.

She continued to grind the herbs, but she couldn't keep her curiosity in check. "How did we... How did we get married?"

She questioned, hoping that her voice sounded nonchalant.

Sasuke thought for a moment, and then said, "You chased me around. I got annoyed and agreed."

Sakura didn't know what to say to that.

"Was I annoying?" She asked tentatively, feeling the blush once again creep up her cheeks in mortification.

Sasuke paused for a moment, thinking. Something like a shadow brushed the blackness of his eyes, before he smiled and said, "No."

Sakura breathed out a sigh of relief. "Good. I figured that a guy like you must've had heaps of girls chasing him around."

Sasuke frowned again.

She quickly corrected herself. "It was supposed to be a compliment."

His frown grew deeper.

"I meant that because you're really strong, obviously all of the girls would have been so captivated by your strength that they could help but chase you around," Sakura clarified.

He stopped frowning, and smirked, a rush of amused air escaping his nose. "Of course I am."

Sakura breathed a silent sigh of relief, and went back to crushing her herbs. Her husband sure had a large ego.

She wondered if they had always lived in the cave behind the waterfall.

Not that she was complaining. It was a very beautiful place; wonderfully secluded, with a huge, bowl shaped area behind the caves. At night, one could see the stars and admire their shining, innocent beauty.

There was also a natural hot spring somewhere deep within the cave. Sasuke had led her there only yesterday; she was

lost after the first couple of turns, and refused to go back there unless he were to show her the way again.

The place wasn't disappointing, but she imagined that she would want to live somewhere with lots of... Sunshine. Somewhere where it would always be wonderfully warm, even during the cold winter months.

She desperately hoped that she wasn't a detestable person in the past. She wanted to make lots and lots of friends. But it wouldn't work well if the victims whom she had snapped fingers off, were always chasing her around looking for revenge.

She continued to grind the Moongrass, and was very close to finishing. She prepared a small glass bottle to put the paste in. Moongrass was incredibly useful against cuts and bruises, and had the ability to build up ones immune system.

There would be many uses for it later on.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Sasuke's figure move slightly, as if trying to find a more comfortable position to stand in.

She still couldn't believe it. Not only the fact that she had chased him around for – she presumed – years, but had also landed him as a partner in marriage. He was obviously very skilled and strong. She suspected that most of his power came from those eyes of his that bled red and spun like a pinwheel.

Even though Sakura had not encountered many people, she doubted that there were many people with eyes that could spin in such a lethal circle. Sort of like how she was sure that there weren't many people around who had naturally pink hair.

She suddenly had an idea.

"Sasuke-Kun?"

Sasuke looked at her and tilted his head, waiting for her to continue.

"Let's spar," she suggested, excited at the prospect of facing him.

His lips curved into a sinister smirk and he nodded.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my beta. Please go read their stories too.

* * *

><p>Chapter 7<p>

* * *

><p>Sasuke led them to an open field away from the village. The sun shone brightly, the lilting ocean of green swaying in the slight breeze, tickling their ankles.<p>

"How do you want to do this?" Sasuke asked the rose haired girl as he turned to face her.

Sakura didn't know how else to start, so she charged at him at full speed, her movements predictable and clumsy to the raven haired youth.

Within seconds, her arms were pinned down by the Uchiha and she was on the ground, struggling to get up.

Well, that was humiliating.

"Did you underestimate me, Sakura? Or don't you know any better?" Sasuke questioned, amusement dancing in his eyes and on his tongue.

Sakura, who had decided to use her 'wife' card to her complete advantage, groaned as if in pain. "You're hurting me, Sasuke," she whimpered, her voice catching on false tears.

Sasuke immediately let go and stepped back.

Sakura jumped up and away from him. "Let's establish some rules," she said. "No aiming for my face, no chakra based jutsu's. None of that freaky eye crap, either. I don't know why it's red and spinning, but I know it's dangerous. No genjutsu, since I'm guessing it's useless. And don't hit my tummy. It hurts."

Sasuke stared at her, utterly bewildered, but of course refusing to let that show on his impassive exterior. "So basically only taijutsu, and I can't aim at your face or your stomach."

"Yes!" Sakura exclaimed, hoping he would get the point and call off the spar. It would be boring anyway, seeing as he would win it with ease.

"Ok, let's go," Sasuke agreed, much to Sakura's surprise and chagrin.

She mentally groaned, hating the fact that she had to do this. It was true that she had suggested it, but from the moment that he first pinned her down, she knew that she was absolutely no match for him. Not in the slightest.

He stood before her and still did not move. She sighed, thinking that she may as well humiliate herself and be done with it, before she lunged at him with a more careful aim and a significantly slower speed in her step.

He disappeared.

She quickly kicked the ground below her and jumped up in the air to avoid direct combat.

He seemed to anticipate that move because he appeared in thin air, beside Sakura.

The roseate quickly attempted to kick him away from her, but he caught her leg and threw her away towards the ground.

She flipped a couple of times and caught herself before she hit the earth, landing in a cat-like stance.

"Sasuke," she called, staggering upright.

"Hmm?" He replied, standing gracefully.

"You are too strong," Sakura stated, her tone matter-of-fact. Her mouth creased into a frown. "I am no match for you at all."

He chuckled.

"How did you become so strong?" She queried, suddenly very interested in his shadowy past.

"Special circumstances. It isn't very interesting," Sasuke answered.

"Did we grow up together? We obviously didn't receive the same training," Sakura commented, using her hand to heal a bruise.

"We had different Sensei's, yes," he responded. "I had multiple Senseis' - you had two. One taught you the basics of ninjutsu and the other taught you the methods of specialized Medical Jutsu and Chakra Control."

Sakura looked at her leg, which had been almost perfectly healed by her growing healing capabilities.

"Sasuke-Kun, please don't snap other people's fingers again," Sakura said, her tone both sickened and sad at the idea.

"Alright," Sasuke agreed lightly. "They usually do it themselves. I don't care much."

Sakura's face went pale.

"It's funny," Sasuke continued. "You're so against snapping fingers when it's only the lightest out of all the punishments. Sometimes, they'd rather take out one of their eyes than break an arm... It's interesting to see what they choose in place of death..."

Sakura's eyes went as round as saucers. "What?" She shrieked, horrified at the prospect of such at ridiculous punishment.

Beneath his calm façade, Sasuke was laughing at her reaction. Coughing so as to hide any stray release of amusement, he said, "Those are merely the traditional punishments that were developed by my ancestors. I can't change them, nor can I change the guards. Come, are you hungry? It's nearly noon."

Sakura resisted the urge to puke. "Let's race back," she suggested.

Sasuke smirked. "What if you don't come back?"

Sakura went pale again. That was her plan. She wanted Sasuke to race ahead. While he was busy running away from her, she would make her escape.

Damn it, why did her husband have to be so smart?

Sasuke could read her like a book. He liked this feeling, where he could see through everything in her heart. He couldn't a couple of months ago.

"That's too bad," Sasuke said nonchalantly, turning as if to leave without her. "I was planning on telling you all about your Sensei's. They were Kages."

Sakura's eyes sparkled, alight with curiosity. "Really? They were Hokages?"

Sasuke smiled amusingly. "Catch me, Sakura."

And in the next second he disappeared, leaving Sakura alone to curse him.

* * *

><p>AN: Many of you guys could probably guess who the Hokage is now.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

* * *

><p>Sakura raced through the treetops and over rooftops trying her hardest to catch Sasuke. He was so damned fast, that by the time she reached the cave, he was already there sipping hot tea.<p>

She huffed and puffed, grabbed his cup full of scalding tea, and drank it all in one angry swipe. Although at first annoyed, he quickly got over it because she'd burnt herself and was jumping around in agony.

Sakura stared at Sasuke in hatred, before she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Tell me about my sensei's!" She demanded.

Sasuke didn't argue. He began.

(~^^~)

"We had the same sensei at first. He taught us the basics of ninjutsu. His name was Kakashi Hatake."

At that point, Sakura interjected, her curiosity not being able to withstand even the first few sentences. "Was he really strong?"

Sasuke sneered. "He's merely a copy of me. I could've taken him."

Sakura decided to not argue with her husband's massive ego. No matter what was said, it would've ended with her upset and his ego being raised impossibly higher anyway. She nodded for him to continue.

"Then we grew up a little and we left him. I went to... another sensei. You studied under the Hokage at that time. Her name was Tsunade. She was very strong in terms of healing and medical ninjutsu. She helped you to develop your chakra control while you were with her and, consequently, she taught you how to heal using your chakra."

"Is she still the Hokage?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke paused for a moment before replying with a short, "No."

"How come?"

"She's dead."

"Oh."

Neither spoke for a moment. Whether they were lost in the ebb and flow of their memories or merely trying to imagine the sensei they couldn't remember, neither of them could tell. Then, Sakura said, "I thought I would feel sad, but I don't feel anything. I've truly lost all my memories."

Sasuke changed the topic quickly, not wanting to linger on that one for too long. "The current Hokage is our old sensei, Kakashi."

"Oh?" Sakura asked, intrigued. "How come he's the Hokage?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I thought it was amusing too. Out of all the people, they appointed him. Well, better him than that idiot, I suppose."

Sakura raised an eyebrow in silent question.

"Nothing," Sasuke quickly covered. "Lunch is ready."

Sakura ate her food slowly. Somehow, the food wasn't as tasty as it should have been. There was plenty of variety – cold meats, fruits, vegetables, breads, little cakes – and it was all made to complete perfection. In truth, Sakura couldn't find any fault within the food itself. Somehow, she just couldn't enjoy it.

Sasuke observed her as she chewed a bit of ham.

"Sakura, would you like to go back to Leaf?"

His question caught her by surprise, and she stared at him in shock, her mouth slightly agape. "We're going back?"

"Not we," Sasuke emphasized. "You."

She looked puzzled, so naturally expressed the question that beleaguered her mind. "Why won't you come? You grew up in leaf too, right? Besides, we're married. We should be together."

His smile was slightly bitter. "I can't go back. I ran away from Konoha. That's one of the reasons I got as strong as I am now, or else I would never have obtained the power I have currently."

Sakura picked up her food and studied it for a minute, as if it was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. "Do you regret it? Running away?"

"No," Sasuke replied without hesitation. "Leaf only ever held me back."

She then lowered her head, not wanting him to see the sadness written across her features. "I ran away from Leaf as well. I must be a rogue too."

"No." He said quietly. "You will be forgiven."

"Why?"

"They don't have enough evidence against you. If you admit that you were abducted by me then they'd have no choice but to accept you back."

She leaned back. "But will the villagers accept me back and allow me to be their friend?"

He sneered, as if cruelly laughing at some inner joke. "Of course they will."

Sakura continued to eat her rice.

She ate very little; she felt a headache waiting for her around the corner, ready to pounce at the opportune moment.

"You will love Konoha," Sasuke said suddenly, his voice sounding lyrical. "It's bathed in sunshine."

She put her chopsticks down. "Did you?"

He, in turn, raised an eyebrow in question.

"Did you abduct me from Konoha?" Sakura clarified.

Sasuke took a sip of tea, and tilted his head slightly, his lips curving slightly. "No."

She stood up, knocking the table with the force of her sudden movement. "Thank you for lunch."

She retired to her chambers and buried her head under the pillows, doing her best to hold back her sobs. She was finding that she was starting to hate herself. Her former self must've been a stupid, stupid love sick little girl who blindly chased after the idea of romance and love. She had offered so much of herself to him, even to the point of abandoning her friends, her parents, her home… And for what? A man who snaps off people's fingers, that's what. And what was worse was that she didn't know if she regretted it or not. She had forgotten her past and she had forgotten the feeling of being in love. She wondered if he reciprocated her love. She wondered if he was capable of any emotion other than anger.

Sakura cursed her former self. "You have no respect for yourself. You are only a foolish little girl," she whispered to herself. And she knew she was right.

How in the world could she have been so ignorant? So pathetic and shallow and -

Suddenly, the covers were pulled off of her forcefully. Sakura was thrown against a wall from her bed, and her eyes vaguely saw something flash before her. She felt something against her lips before she could understand what was going on. She was unconsciously responding to him before she realized that she was being kissed.

He pressed his body against hers, his arms wrapped around her as if forcing her to stay in place so she wouldn't escape. His mouth seemed to be glued to hers, his tongue exploring all of the hidden crevices in her mouth, willing her tongue to respond to his, which it did. Why would she want to escape, anyway? Her fingers intertwined with his raven locks, as if reaching down to his soul, grabbing on to him, begging him to never let her go.

He kissed and kissed her, until her tongue felt like it was going to melt, until her body tingled all over, until she started wrapping her legs around him.

And then, he pushed her away, carefully rejecting her in the gentlest of ways.

She was crying by that point. She sobbed and asked why he wouldn't touch her. She had abandoned all pride as a female individual and had chased him relentlessly. Her heart ached for him and her body melted against his touches.

Sasuke desperately tried to calm her down. He whispered that there was no point in going further if she couldn't remember what they were before. If he continued, it would be disrespectful to the memories of her former self. Although Sasuke said the words with kindness and worry seeping from his being like blood oozes from a wound, inside, he was laughing bitterly. He found himself wishing that she would never remember what had happened before, not only because it was a painful memory for them both, but it was also a testament of his sins and cruel nature. He forced himself to be as gentle as possible to Sakura, because over the years he has caused her unimaginable pain and agony, quite intentionally on his part—and now he regretted it.

They were glued together for a while. He kissed her until she felt as if her tongue was melting against his. Until her body called for his caress, and her lips knew his better than her own. She whimpered under his strong, yet feather-light touches.

He carried her to his room and hugged her until she fell asleep in his arms. In her dreaming state, she wrapped her body against him; hoping that the feeling would continue on forever.

* * *

><p>AN: If any reader was fooled by Sasuke's kind nature and swoon over his gentleness... I laugh...satirically.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 9<p>

* * *

><p>Sakura woke up, curled in the tight embrace of Sasuke's arms.<p>

She observed him for a while, the way that the moonlight danced across his features like pearl butterflies, and noticed that it was late into night.

She wondered if this was what married life was like.

He looked so innocent when asleep. Without the Sharingan spinning wildly in his eyes, he appeared so calm, so peaceful.

Sakura sighed, and Sasuke opened his eyes at the soft sound.

"Did I wake you?" Sakura asked him, guilt tinting her tone.

In truth, Sasuke had woken up a long time ago, but he chose not to say anything. Instead, he caressed her hair with gentle strokes.

"Sakura, pack your stuff. We'll be leaving for Konoha soon."

Sakura blinked, her eyes sparkling with surprise. "So soon? We... we'll be separate, won't we? Will I see you again?" Sakura asked, a tinge of desperation in her voice.  
>Sasuke merely chuckled. "Of course you will. You are my wife. I will visit you from time to time. At this point, nobody in Konoha is of match for me." He sounded so confidant, so sure of himself, that Sakura believed him. She didn't think any further on it. She snuggled against him one last time, nuzzling his neck with her nose affectionately, before she jumped out of bed and walked back to her room to started packing.<p>

Sasuke leaned on the doorframe as he watched Sakura hurry in and out of the room, quickly packing away her little medicine jars and first aid equipment. His gaze trailed towards her headband. It was her old Konoha headband. She used it as a hair tie rather than a forehead protector, much like she had nine years ago, when she was still so little, so innocent.

His eyes softened. "Sakura," he called.

"Yes?" She was busy organizing her luggage, but turned around quickly to acknowledge his presence anyway.

"You are the only person in the world that I can trust," he stated simply.

"Only one in the world?" Sakura repeated in surprise. She thought about his words for a moment, before she too, nodded. "You too are the only person in the world that I can trust."

He closed his eyes and sighed, his voice almost inaudible. "Don't betray me, Sakura."

She didn't hear him.

A short while later, Sakura stood at the cave's mouth, taking a last glance at the place she had called home for the past few weeks. "I have a feeling that it will be a long time before I see this place again."

And she was right.

He chuckled, and then stood straight. "Let's go."

She nodded, and they stepped out of the cave, away from the little village, disappearing into the misty, dream-like forest as the sun peaked above the treetops.

(€^~^)

It was usually only a three day journey from Kawa to Konoha, but it took them almost a week to get there.

They didn't travel by... Tree. It would be a waste of chakra. Sasuke was always very careful about his chakra use. Sakura, however, didn't care much about hers.

But their journey was... Fairly interesting, to say the least.

It was more of an adventure rather than just a journey.

Sakura noticed that everywhere they turned, they encountered hostility. It was like they'd been branded with some sort of sign that drew bad folk to them like flies to honey. As if to prove her hypothesis, as soon as they stepped out of the boundaries of Kawa, there was a group of scary looking men standing in front of them.

Sakura immediately wanted to back down, and so said, "Sasuke-kun, I think we should run."

Sasuke looked at her in such a way that she almost felt guilty. The last time she had received that look was when she had walked into the living room and saw a small basket of strawberries. She loved strawberries, and so, naturally, wanted to eat them all by herself. So she quickly said to Sasuke, "They're all mine! You can't eat any!"

Before Sasuke could respond, she had licked all the strawberries once, giving an evil sounding cackle afterwards.

Sasuke had looked at her in the same way that that he was looking at her now.

This will be referred to as the 'Strawberry-Look.' Don't worry; it's going to appear a few times.

One of the men yelled, "Uchiha! You'd better give us the Manual if you know what's good for you!"

Sasuke raised an elegant eyebrow.

"You arrogant little bastard -"

The man didn't finish his sentence, because his head had been disconnected from his body before he could blink.

Sakura stood still whilst she watched as Sasuke quickly finished off everybody in sight. What amazed her was that there wasn't a single drop of blood on his blade or himself. It soaked into the dusty road, staining the path a deep crimson, but Sasuke was able to remove himself from the scene before the blood sprayed over him or his sword.

Sakura started shaking.

"Sakura." Sasuke walked towards her, and she backed away, almost frightened.

"Sakura, stop moving," Sasuke ordered her softly, and she stood still. He almost sighed. "I forgot that my little Sakura doesn't like blood."

She blinked, but did not say anything.

"I also forgot that she doesn't speak when frightened or stressed," Sasuke whispered, his voice low, as he pulled her close to him.

She didn't struggle against his touches, and he held her hand as they walked on into the forest.

(~.~)

They were sitting in a simple booth in a tea-rest stop.

It was raining quite heavily, so Sasuke bought both of them two black raincoats.

He asked her what she would like, and she just shook her head, having lost most of her appetite after seeing her husband slaughter those men like their lives were little more than ants.

He frowned. She usually recovered quite quickly from one of his actions that she disapproved of, so he was confused as to what could have her looking so sad.

"Sakura, what is the matter?" he asked her, trying to catch her gaze.

Sakura knew that if she continued to remain silent, he would probably force her to speak up. "The men you killed… They were probably friends."

He waited for her to continue.

"They probably had lives. They probably had wives, sisters, brothers, children, parents, friends… And you killed them as if someone's life is so easy to give or take. Like a life means nothing," she finished sadly, sincerely hoping that he wouldn't be mad at her.

He took her by surprise when he started to chuckle, and she looked at his, questions dancing in her emerald orbs.

"I was also born into a high morale family," he told her. "But what I learnt from an early age was that survival came above everything else. They were not smart enough to survive, so they shouldn't."

Sakura hugged her raincoat closer to her and didn't say a word.

Suddenly, at a table across from them, a man slammed his fist on the table and yelled, "You are asking me to pay? Just who do you think I am?"

The waiter was baffled at the mans ludicrous remark. "Who?" He questioned stupidly.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke!" the man proclaimed, and turned around to reveal an Uchiha crest on the back of his shirt.

Sakura stared at the scene, and turned back to see Sasuke's amused expression.

The waiter argued foolishly, "You are not Uchiha Sasuke! You don't have the Sharingan!"

The man, who was very tough looking, retaliated with, "I don't use Sharingan on small matters like this, you insolent little worm!"

Sakura laughed out loud.

Unfortunately the man heard her, and he strode over to their table. "What are you laughing at, little girl?" he interrogated.

Sakura gave an amused giggle. "I just can't believe that Uchiha Sasuke has developed a reputation of not paying when being served," she said.

Sasuke's face quickly turned from a smile to a frown.

The man's face flushed in anger. "You are dead you know that? I will not bother to use the Sharingan on you. I will just mangle you with my bare hands." He charged at Sakura, who looked calm as anything.

Sasuke arched a brow, and black flames immediately enveloped the man's back in a haze of midnight heat. He was rolling around on the floor, screaming in agony, as Sasuke stood up and dragged  
>Sakura away from that tea shop.<p>

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed as she struggled against the vice-like grip that encased her upper arm.

"Hn?" Sasuke queried, annoyed.

"You forgot to pay..."

"..."

* * *

><p>AN: ... SORRY FOR THE DELAY. REVIEW. MUAH~~


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 10<p>

* * *

><p>Whilst they travelled, Sakura continuously bothered Sasuke, pleading with him to tell her more stories about her youth.<p>

Sasuke sifted through the myriad of memories for a minute, before a mischievous smirk found purchase on his features. "When we were young, you use to ask me out every five minutes."

Sakura's face turned green from embarrassment, and she turned her head away, her eyes suddenly finding the dirt path fascinating.

Sasuke continued, as if oblivious to the rosette's mortification. "I would always refuse, of course. I use to value power far more than romance. Mhmm. I often wonder if I should've accepted one of those dates, just so that I could tease you about it now," he commented, amused.

"Stop! Stop! I don't wanna hear this! Tell me another story! I want another one!" Sakura yelled, her voice breaking in horror.

The forest was filled with energy, the sunshine dappled the forest in puddles of gold. The winding forest path was quite deserted. Sometimes travellers would pass by the duo, sometimes robbers attempted to mug them. Sakura soon became use to the robbers; they crossed their path almost every single day. It wasn't so bad. If she punched the ground in front of them, they would jump away screaming as the earth crumbled to dust under their feet.

"You said that you ran away from Konoha... How did we meet again?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke coughed lightly, his mind scrambling around for an answer. Back when they were sixteen, their encounters had not been particularly pretty.

"Uh... You came and found me. I needed you to heal my eyes." He kept his eyes averted, so that she wouldn't sense the complete truth. How could he tell her that they'd clashed under the mutual desire to murder each other?

"Why? What was wrong with them?"

The raven haired boy decided to give her the simplified version. "I used my Sharingan too much and exhausted my eyes. You fixed them for me."

"How?"

"How should I know?"

"I must have been a genius," she said to herself, her tone tinged with an underscore of awe.

Sasuke gave her the Strawberry Look.

She laughed, and Sasuke felt that her laughter sounded like the chiming of bells.

"You must be excited," he noted.

"Yeah! I'm super excited! I can't wait to see where I grew up! I can't wait to meet all of the friends I used to have!" she exclaimed, her voice dripping with happiness.

Sasuke sighed, his demeanor melancholy. She belonged to Konoha, in the sun, amongst the flowers and the happiness that friendship could bring. She didn't belong with him, in his ink-stained world.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura said. "Aren't you going to be lonely when I'm not around? You barely talk to anyone."

"I suppose I could talk to myself," he suggested sarcastically.

Sakura pouted, and then said very slowly, her voice soft and sad, "What if you cheat on me with other women?"

Sasuke sighed. Her questions were making his head ache, and he supposed that to be rid of her wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. He won't admit this to her now, but she really was ridiculously annoying.

"You will cheat on me, won't you." A statement, a fact, one that she believed completely and utterly. There was no room for questions. No room for hope. "You've probably had many mistresses. Am I your backup plan? Do you enjoy—"

Before she could finish bombarding him with questions, he grasped her around the waist in a tight hold, and jumped up to a tree branch.

Where they had been standing only moments before, a few kunai were embedded in the dirt.

"We are under attack." 'Thank god,' Sasuke added silently, while putting Sakura on a safe branch.

Suddenly, the world beneath them shook violently, as if a monster had stared thrashing against possible imprisonment. Sakura clung to the tree for dear life. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his surroundings, and then spotted the person using the jutsu.

He made a few signs, and flung a Katon fireball at the source.

The quaking earth stopped.

"Come," he ordered softly, and jumped down from the tree branch.

Sakura followed, and landed lightly beside him. She could see the scorch marks scarring the nearby trees, and wondered if the sighing trees were weeping from the pain. If their whispers in a language long lost were ancient words of lament, urging their brothers and sisters to stand strong against such a horrific blight.

The attacker jumped down from the tree that concealed him. "Uchiha Sasuke. No wonder you've gained such a reputation. Now hand over that Manual."

Now she really wanted to know what the Manual was.

Sasuke smirked. "You think you can defeat me?" His words were laced with a deadly confidence.

The man hesitated. "Probably not. But your arrogance will be your doom someday."

"I'll be waiting for it," Sasuke responded emotionlessly, and raised his sword. As he swung it down, bolts of lightning shot through the tip and at the man. He was dead before he had started to fall.

"There are more of them coming," Sasuke stated, his eyes looking at the body that lay sprawled on the path. "Sakura, would you like to see if you can take care of them?"

Sakura stared at him. "What?"

"You need some practice in hands-on combat. I think this is a good time to practice."

"Are you crazy? I could be killed!" She yelled.

"I will be here watching over you."

"I will still be killed," she protested, her voice weaker. She knew she'd lost the argument before it had even begun.

"Sakura," Sasuke said seriously. "You need practice. You need skills in combat to protect yourself."

Sakura's eyes somehow became teary. She tugged on Sasuke's robe and asked, "Do you have to leave?"

Sasuke sighed. "Never mind. I guess that I will just have to always take care of you."

At that point, there was no further use in arguing. There was a group of nin already there.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" one of them yelled. He wore a green suit and a haircut that looked unbelievably ugly.

Sasuke frowned, the notion no more than a dint in the otherwise flawless face. The situation could be either really simple or really ugly.

From Sakura's couple of months of experience with Sasuke, she had learned that her heart would get highly strung when Sasuke frowned. She was immediately surprised by another female voice.

"Sakura-chan?"

Sakura whipped around and saw a girl of about her age, with two buns adorning the top of her head.

"Do I know these people?" Sakura asked Sasuke.

The guy in the green suit yelled out again, "Sakura Chan! I cannot believe that you would allow yourself to be brainwashed by such a foe as the Uchiha! I fear that the power of youth may have faded, and your vision clouded by his web of deceit. Why else would you have deserted us, your dearest village?"

Sakura blinked in confusion. "But I don't remember anything."

A man with long black hair and eyes the color of mother-of-pearl walked out of the woods.

"Uchiha, what did you do with Haruno?"

Sasuke's frown became deeper, his brows slanting in a sharp angle across his eyes. Sakura was silently praying that he wouldn't kill the people who seemed to know her.

"She woke up at the base of a cliff and forgot everything," he replied after a lengthy pause.

"Who are these people? Sasuke-kun, I... my last name is Haruno? I thought it was Uchiha."

"Before you married me your maiden name was Haruno," he explained patiently. Being with Sakura truly tested his patience to the extreme.

"Sasuke-kun, I -"

"What?" the green suited man yelled.

"What?" the girl with buns screeched.

"Uh... You two are married?" The man with no pupils asked.

Sakura stared at the three new-comers. Somehow, she found them all vaguely familiar. Like their names, their identities were on the tip of her tongue, just waiting to be given voice, but the voice wouldn't come.

She walked over to the girl, her gait cautious. "Were you my friend?" she queried, waiting for a swift rebuttal.

The girl was taken aback. "Yes."

Sakura smiled so much that her eyes twinkled in delight. "I found a friend!"

Sasuke stared at the scene, his black eyes cold. "I was escorting her back to Konoha. Looks like I don't need to do that now."

"Uchiha, we were under direct orders to capture you if we see you," the man with long hair said in an authoritative tone.

Sasuke sneered. "You three think you could take me on?"

Sakura looked over at the girl, worried. She didn't want to lose a new friend so soon after finding her. "Please don't fight him," she begged. "He is very, very strong. I don't want to find a friend and lose a friend in the same day. That would be horrible."

The girl in buns stared at her incredulously. "Wh...What did you do to her, Uchiha!" she demanded, her voice shaking beneath the barely repressed fury.

Sasuke frowned. "I'm leaving."

He turned to go, but Sakura ran back to his side.

"What are you doing? Don't you want to go back to Leaf?" Sasuke asked her, one of his brows arched in silent questioning.

"Yes, but I don't want to leave you so soon," Sakura whispered. "Not with so little warning."

Sasuke raised a hand to smooth out her pink hair, his fingers running through the locks, dancing on the fringe of her scalp.

"Sakura..."

He bent down and kissed her. His tongue traced the outline of her lips, and she opened her mouth to him. Her eyes closed, savoring the moment as if it would be the last, and her arms snaked around his neck, anchoring him to her.

And in the next moment, the warmth on her lips was gone, and his hands were no longer resting on her waist, her arms no longer around his throat.

She opened her eyes, and there was nothing left.

Sakura felt like crying.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 11<p>

* * *

><p>Sakura soon found that her new friends were really nice people. After their apparent initial shock, warm welcomes were exchanged, and they asked her a lot of questions. They also answered the onslaught of pent-up questions that Sakura had. The described Konoha, and what life was like for the people that lived there, as well as describing the friends that Sakura had no memory of.<p>

With each passing moment, Sakura became more and more excited to get back to her home village.

The first question that escaped Tenten's – the girl with matching brunette buns – mouth after getting settled at an inn was, "How the hell did you end up marrying Uchiha!"

Sakura thought about it, her eyes glazing over as she delved into memories that refused to surface. "I don't remember. One day I woke up and I'd forgotten everything. He told that me I was his wife. I tried to ask him how we got married, but he never gave me a straight answer. Maybe I chased him all day and he just agreed out of annoyance," Sakura replied passively.

Tenten gawked at the girl, before pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, trying to recover from Sakura's complete ignorance. "Sakura Chan, do you know who Uchiha Sasuke is and what he has done?"

Sakura shook her head, confusion apparent in her eyes.

Tenten thought for a moment, resting her chin in the crevice of her palm. "I don't think I'm in any position to tell you. Naruto should be the one to tell you this, or Kakashi Sama."

"You mean the Hokage?" Sakura asked.

Tenten nodded. "I'm surprised you know that. Kakashi Sensei only became the Hokage a few months ago."

"You mean Tsunade Sama only died a recently?" Sakura questioned.

Tenten nodded again in assent.

"How?" Sakura demanded. "Wasn't she supposed to be strong?"

Tenten looked at her sadly and shook her head, her chocolate brown eyes shutting away secrets that she wouldn't give. "It doesn't matter. You're coming home now. That's what we want. That's all that matters."

Sakura wondered exactly what had happened to her old Sensei, but she didn't push the matter. There were far too many other questions plaguing her mind for her to be able to dwell on one of them.

Tenten was so excited the whole way back to Konoha, and she kept up a constant stream of talk the whole time.

"Is it really true that I chased Sasuke Kun around when I was young?" the roseate queried, tentative of disrupting Tenten's flurry of words.

Tenten frowned. "You've started calling him "Sasuke Kun" again."

"Why? What's wrong with that?" Sakura turned to her friend, fixing her bright green eyes on the brunette.

"Nothing really. You used to call him Sasuke Kun before you were sixteen. After that you just called him Sasuke."

"How do you know that?"

"Well, I don't know what Sasuke told you, but you did go after him... I'm a little unclear on the details. I don't know if it was you chasing after him, or him abducting you. It's just that you transplanted his eyes and he became even more powerful..." Tenten paused as she took a drink of her lemon flavored water. "I encountered you during the fourth great ninja war. Do you remember that?"

Sakura shook her head. "No."

Tenten sighed, not sure how to phrase the next words. "You looked absolutely horrible, as if you had been abused every single day. There were scars and wounds all over you. The old sunny Sakura was completely gone. I missed you so much."

Sakura blinked, her orbs spilling with shock. "Was I really that bad?"

Tenten thought back. "Yeah, but it was during the war. Everybody was very antsy and nervous. I didn't get a chance to talk to you. You were in sight one minute, gone the next. You were in a hurry to go to some place. Soon after, you disappeared. We sent in teams to search for you, but no one found you. Naruto was mad with worry, he was the one who was bugging Kakashi Sensei to keep on searching for you. Now he's bugging Kakashi Sensei to negotiate with the other nations about Sasuke..."

"Wait, what!" Sakura's head was pounding with unspoken questions. "Tenten, what are you talking about? I don't follow you at all..."

Tenten took a moment to answer, decided on how best to phrase her next question. "I guess that I should start at the beginning, but I don't know what I should tell you. It's so hard…"

Sakura slumped back into her chair, and jutted out her bottom lip into a firm pout. "Sasuke-kun wouldn't tell me anything, you won't tell me anything... I feel like a blank page. I feel like I'm the only one who is completely fooled in every single aspect of my life!"

Tenten winced. "Sakura, I am so sorry. If you ask me questions, I suppose that I could start talking."

A small smile etched it's way onto Sakura's lips, and she immediately started to fire questioned at the brunette. "I was born in Konoha?"

"Yes."

"What about Sasuke Kun's family? He said his family was extremely boring. Is that true?"

Tenten stared at the girl, and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So Sakura didn't know about the massacre. Why wouldn't Sasuke have told her about that?

"Well..." Tenten started, "It's a family matter, I suppose. The Uchihas... They're about as boring as one could get, when you put it in a certain sense."

Sakura bobbed her head up and down, carefully filing away the new-found information, before she continued. "Where are they by the way? Are they back in Konoha? Did Sasuke-kun leave his family?"

"Not quite..." Tenten said.

"Oh my God, Tenten! Just tell me already!"

"I wish I could! But I don't know the whole story myself either!" she exclaimed. "You'll have to ask Naruto."

"Well, just tell me what you do know," Sakura compensated. "I'm not picky -"

"Oh, look at the time. Dinner is surely ready by now," Tenten piped, standing up and walking quickly towards the door.

"Tenten!"

Said girl sighed, and slowly made her way back to the chair, into which she fell.

"When I was really young, I heard from my father that the Uchiha family was massacred. Everyone had been murdered except for Sasuke."

Sakura stared at Tenten in horror, her mouth gaping. Tenten immediately stopped her flow of words, as Sakura had turned a frightening shade of green; she looked as if she was about to vomit.

"Sakura, it was a long time ago. That happened like... Oh god. Thirteen, fourteen years ago? I don't know. It was such a long time ago, and everybody knew about it." Tenten said as she tried to comfort the poor girl who she ran to the bathroom and started to empty the contents of her stomach.

Sakura continued to vomit until she was dry-heaving over the bowl, her stomach having been completely emptied. A glistening sheen of sweat coated her skin, turning it a pallid, green-tinged color. Anxiety and shock crashed down on her like a wave, and she felt incredibly disturbed by the fact that her in-laws had died in such a horrible way. If she'd but known! Nausea hit her like a hammer as she remembered how Sasuke had treated his guards. Her head was immediately back in the toilet bowl.

"Who massacred his family?" Sakura queried once her stomach had ceased it's horrid churning.

"His older brother, Uchiha Itachi," Tenten answered in the gentlest of ways.

Sakura went straight back to vomiting land.

(^x^~)

The sun had barely cleared the treetops when Tenten came in and roused Sakura from her sleep. Neji had decided that the sooner they get back to Konoha, the better.

Sakura didn't get to ask a lot of questions as they travelled at a blinding pace through the trees. They dodged the hanging foliage, desperately racing back to Konoha, pushing themselves to go as fast as they could. The sooner they got back to Konoha, the better. Apparently, it was a direct order from the Hokage.

Sakura imagined what her life in the village would be like. Her life before must have been a very happy one, full of laughter and good memories. Even though Sasuke had left her, she had found her way back home, and firmly believed that everyone would welcome her back.

She couldn't have been more wrong.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas. Please go read their stories too~

I went home during the holidays. So updates on this might be a little slow. But never fear, there will never be a 5 day gap between any update for chaptered stories.

* * *

><p>Chapter 12<p>

* * *

><p>The moment Sakura stepped foot in Konoha, she was arrested and taken to prison.<p>

She didn't even get a good look at where she grew up, before they hid her away in a lightless, concrete room.

She didn't understand. She'd thought that everybody in Konoha was supposed to be warm and welcoming. Sasuke had said that they'd valued friendship so much that it was disgusting.

She was put in a steamer like torture chamber, where a man with long blond hair put his hand on her head and probed inside her mind until he made sure that she had indeed not made up the story of losing her memory.

Sakura was nearly on the verge of tears when she was brought to the Hokage's office.

She had been humiliated and embarrassed by her own village. Konoha didn't feel like home to her at all.

When they walked through the streets, there were people staring at her and pointing. She could hear their whispers.

"Isn't that Haruno Sakura? Didn't she betray our village?"

"What is she doing here? Get out of our village!"

"Where was she during the war? She ran out on us like a rat!"

Sakura sniffed. She'd never experienced so much humiliation. She had been spoiled by Sasuke, who would amputate other people's body parts if she didn't receive her morning cup of milk. She wanted to march up to those people and ask why they were whispering such things about her, but she was tied up and unable to move freely. It's true that she had run away from the village for the Sasuke's sake. Perhaps if the villagers did not speak out of turn she wouldn't have betrayed the village.

Why was it different? Was this truly her sunshine?

She sat outside of the Hokage's office and waited until the blond man finished giving reports about her memories and mind.

After twenty minutes of nervous waiting, she was allowed to go inside.

She stumbled in and saw a very tired man whose hair was completely white.

At first she thought that he was old, but as she looked closer, she realized that he just had white hair. He was really only around thirty to thirty five years of age.

"Sakura," he said, and his voice sounded weary.

Sakura blinked. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes, that's me," he replied.

He looked so tired, but he was trying his best not to show it. The years carved themselves on his face; even though there are no wrinkles or anything like that, it's kind of obvious that he has seen too much that someone his age should not have seen. He poesses the hindsight of an eighty year old, and his eyes are making Sakura a bit uncomfortable, as if she has made a grave mistake and is taking the punishment for it.

"Oh," Sakura said. She was at a loss for words. She was not sure how she should react.

There was a silence.

Kakashi examined her closely. "Sakura, I arranged for you to live with Hinata-chan. I will have someone escort you there. Your luggage has already been placed in your room."

"Oh, thanks."

Kakashi looked at Sakura closely again. She didn't look away. Kakashi studied her for a good ten seconds before he spoke again. "Sakura, is it true that you married Uchiha Sasuke?"

"I think so," Sakura answered truthfully.

"Have you consummated your marriage?"

"I think so," Sakura answered honestly again. If this old geezer was comfortable with these kinds of questions, why shouldn't she be? She was a medical ninja after all.

Kakashi was surprised by her frankness for a moment, but he quickly recovered. "Have you given him a child, Sakura?"

"I don't think so."

Kakashi leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. Such news was probably a blessing placed upon his dear pupil. Images flooded his mind like a tsunami. Not so long ago, his memory of Sakura was that of a thin and scared young woman. She'd looked as if she had lost all ability to live, love and be compassionate. Before that, Sakura was innocent, naive, and desperately trying to chase the idea of love. He wondered if it was a sign. Kami didn't want Sakura yet, so she returned with all her memories gone. No recollection of all the pain and suffering she had gone through.

Kakashi wanted to ask Kami why. Out of the many genin teams, why was this team the only one he trained? Was he a bad teacher? Look at them. One was obsessed with revenge, and went around killing people. One fell in love and followed him, perhaps made him unparalleled in power... And the last one was in extreme pain, suffering because his two dear friends had abandoned their home.

Kakashi wondered what he had done to deserve this. He wondered if it was a punishment sent from above. He hadn't properly taken care of his own team, so Kami had punished him with the most difficult genin team of the century. He wondered sarcastically if, after almost ten years, his innocent pupils had found a direction in life.

He felt so tired. He didn't want to continue thinking about it. It was already so late. What's done was done. He was their sensei, so he must carry the burden of cleaning up their mess, even if it meant being verbally abused by the other Kage and village leaders due to the activities of Uchiha Sasuke. Even if it meant receiving letters and complaints that flooded his desk every single day because of Sakura's questionable loyalty and because of her memory problems. Even if it meant that he was going to be disturbed by Naruto every day about his two friends.

"Sir, may I leave?" Sakura asked tentatively. The man in front of her had his eyes closed and seemed to have fallen deep into thought for almost five minutes. She suspected that he had forgotten she was there.

"Oh, of course," Kakashi quickly replied. He waved a hand and a ninja appeared before them. "Escort Sakura Chan to Hinata's," Kakashi ordered sternly.

The masked nin nodded, and Sakura followed him.

Kakashi looked at the file in front of him. It claimed that Haruno Sakura was married to Uchiha Sasuke.

He chuckled lightly, and wondered if, when Sakura's memory returned, would she still be willing to stay married to that man? He was trying to guess what Sasuke was thinking. Did Sasuke really understand what Sakura had done for him? Was Sasuke just trying to redeem himself?

But it wasn't his decision to make. So, he tore the document in half and tossed it into the shredder.

(~^€^~)

Hyuuga Hinata lived in an apartment. There were two rooms, a living room and a kitchen. It was cozy and lovely.

As Sakura got herself settled into one of the rooms, Hinata cooked a wonderful meal consisting of porridge and seasoned vegetables.

One thing Sakura liked about Hinata was that she didn't ask many questions. She was so shy and sweet; she barely spoke loud enough for Sakura to hear.

Hinata was Sakura's close friend. She was Sakura's last interaction before Sakura left the village to chase after Sasuke. Heck she even helped Sakura escape. Hinata and Sakur'a history were more than just simple friends. Sakura saved her from something terrible and took upon the burden herself. It was something that Hinata felt terribly guilty for, yet she knew that it was all for the best.

Sakura, who did now know all this at the time, has decided to use Hinata's shyness to her advantage, and asked Hinata about the village, to which Hinata answered truthfully and even offered to show her around.

They decided to spend the rest of the day in the market, picking out fresh fruits and vegetables.

"Hinata Chan, you're from the Hyuuga Clan, right? Why don't you live in their fancy mansions? Why do you live in a small apartment by yourself?

"I like independence," Hinata replied. She picked up an apple and continued to speak. "Sakura-san, would you like some apple bunnies for dessert?"

"I would love some!" Sakura squealed in delight.

"Bitch!"

Sakura froze. "What did you say, Hinata Chan?"

Hinata quickly waved her hands. "It wasn't me... I'm not the one -"

"It was me." A girl with flaming red hair stepped out from behind Hinata.

Sakura saw the hostility in this girl's eyes, but she didn't want to get in a fight. So, she asked politely, "Do I know you?"

Hinata quickly waved her hands to try and stop a possible fight. "Sakura Chan, this is Karin San, I... Uh..."

"So, you came back after chasing after that monster huh? It's a wonder that you're still alive," the red head spat.

Sakura stared at her.

"I was just checking to see if the rumors were true: If you really did marry him. All I can say is that I feel sorry for you." Karin smiled sadistically and walked away.

Sakura stood still and didn't say anything back. Her mind was spinning and deciphering what the red haired girl could have meant.

"Sakura Chan..." Hinata didn't know what to say. She twisted her fingers and put the apples in the shopping cart. She knows too well what Karin meant. Yet she could not say anything to Sakura...

Sakura didn't say anything the rest of the way home.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas. Please go read their stories too~

I went home during the holidays. So updates on this might be a little slow. But never fear, there will never be a 5 day gap between any update for chaptered stories.

In order to make up for my laziness, I posted another long long long chapter in the "Ashes to Ashes" collection. Please go read.

* * *

><p>Chapter 13<p>

Naruto practically barged straight into Hinata and Sakura's apartment.

Sakura was peeling potatoes when she was greeted by an overwhelming hug.

"Sakura-chan! Thank god you're back!" Naruto said while hugging her.

Hinata retired to her room quietly.

"Naruto-kun?" Sakura tilted her head. She was amazed that the boy showed her so much warmth.

"Yeah, it's me! But don't call me 'Naruto-kun'. You never did before. I can't believe you've lost all your memories! What happened to you? You're thinner! Did that teme abuse you? I heard that you got married to him?" Sakura merely stared at him as he fired question after question at her, and tried to soak them all in.

"I did lose my memories. I'm sorry," she apologized.

Naruto blinked a few times. "What's there to be sorry about? Come on! Let's go eat some ramen!"

Sakura was dragged out of the apartment before she could say goodbye to Hinata.

Naruto ate four bowls of ramen. Sakura watched him in amazement. She could not believe that her best friend was this dude. It made sense though. He was so passionate about everything, and he was so fun to be around. He made her smile.

"Naruto, were you friends with Sasuke-kun too?" Sakura asked out of curiosity.

"...Ah." Naruto said, pausing before drinking the rest of his soup.

"Naruto, can you tell me about Sasuke? His family... His ambitions… Why did he run away from this village? Why did he..."

Naruto stopped her. "Sakura-chan. I love you a lot, but this is not the place to talk about it. So as soon as you pay, we will talk about Sasuke."

Sakura slammed her fist down Naruto's head.

"Ow! Sakura-chan!"

Sakura shrugged. "I just felt like doing that."

Naruto had no choice but to pull out his little frog wallet and pay for the meal.

The two walked along the streets, passing the buildings and parks until they got to the training grounds.

It was then that Naruto told her everything about the Uchiha family.

Sasuke ran away because he wanted the power to kill Itachi...

After he killed Itachi, he was abducted by Madara...

Madara then manipulated Sasuke's anger and hatred...

During the fourth great ninja war, Madara was confronted by various Kages...

Sasuke killed Madara.

By the time the story got to that point, Naruto stopped talking because Sakura seemed to have lost all signs of actually listening.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. "Are you ok?"

Sakura stared at the swaying leaves in the trees and said slowly, "I'm listening. Please continue."

"Sakura-chan, do you really not remember what happened? You were there when Sasuke killed Madara."

"I don't remember," Sakura replied lightly. She realized just how innocent her perception of Sasuke was.

Naruto sighed. "Sakura-chan, I know teme is my friend and all, but truthfully, what do you see in that guy? He was so horrible to you. He used you and did almost nothing nice to you. I wonder how you two got married. It all just seemed so absurd. I..."

Naruto couldn't continue. Sakura closed her eyes, so as to hide the pain that was struggling to show itself. "Naruto-kun, he was nice to me this past month. He was unbelievably nice to me after I lost my memory. I really don't remember the horrible things you said he did to me, so these past two months are my only memory of him."

Naruto sighed. "Sakura-chan, please don't add the suffix to my name. It's weird. Also, has it ever occurred to you that you lost your memories because you wanted to forget? They were indeed very bad memories."

Sakura shook her head. "I don't know. I just don't know. I understand your concern. I will watch out from now on. But... I just can't believe... I'm hearing these stories from other people's mouths. He never told me anything..."

Naruto sighed. "That teme is in serious trouble. Everybody wants to kill him."

"What? Why?"

Naruto looked at her, surprised. "You haven't heard? The Uchiha Manual. It says that Madara left the secret to the Uchiha family in that Manual, and Sasuke is the only one who has it. Everybody has been trying to get it from him."

Oh, so that's what the Manual thing was about.

Sakura shook her head. "I never knew..."

"Not only that," Naruto continued, "But that teme only knows how to cause trouble. Every nation is mad at him except for Sand and us. The Lighting Country already sent out orders. If Sasuke is identified, kill him on sight. That Baka is so stupid; why did he have to go and mess everything up?"

"But he's strong, right? He's very strong!" Sakura persisted, desperate.

"Of course he is," Naruto reassured her, "Or else he would be dead. But he's not as strong as I am. Bawahahaha!"

Sakura gave Naruto the Strawberry Look.

Sakura sat by the training grounds as Naruto jogged off to Kakashi. Sakura realized that they had been talking for nearly four hours.

She stood up, and dusted the dirt off lightly.

She had met her ball of fire.

It felt nice. She smiled softly. He was a very good friend.

Sasuke-kun, what did you trade in order to lose such a good friend?

Sakura wondered if Sasuke was happy. Alone, protected constantly, probably training or reading. Sasuke usually liked to read old history books or ninjutsu books.

Her mind wondered again about when exactly he would be visiting her. She missed him so much, it was frightening.

But, Sakura thought back to what Naruto said. Did Sasuke really use her? How? Hadn't she willingly thrown herself in his way and offered her help?

Sasuke had told her what had happened the night he left. It was beside a park bench. Sakura promised him that she would do everything for him.

And, four years later, when she abandoned her village to search for him, she offered herself again, and he accepted.

Everything...

Sakura watched as the leaves fell from the tree.

She wondered how far she was willing to go for him. She wondered if he took it for granted.

The body she was in seemed to be doing fine. At least she was healthy.

Oh, Sakura... Where is your dignity?

She had none.

How could she? From the moment Sakura had laid eyes on him a few months ago, she had immediately understood why she was so obsessed with him to begin with.

He was so powerful, so charismatic, so ambitious, so attractive, so intimidating, so beautiful...

People were naturally drawn to him, like a moth to a flame.

Sakura's thoughts drifted to the poor red-haired girl. She'd probably sacrificed a lot for Sasuke too.

But, Sakura laughed bitterly, who was she to make such assumptions?

Up until that point, Sakura hadn't understood her own emotions. Now she did. It was pity.

Pity for Sasuke. He lost the family he grew up with, and the family of Konoha that took care of him.

Pity for herself, who blindly chased a boy around and offered herself willingly to him.

Pity for Naruto, who still did not give up, and was trying so desperately to restore peace and harmony.

Sakura sat on a bench until the sun went down. Then, she stood up and slowly walked back to her apartment. For the first time, she ignored the looks and whispers that people flung towards her.

She noticed that an ANBU officer had been following and watching her 24/7, ever since she had come back to Konoha.

She didn't say anything. Instead, she buried her head underneath her pillow and cursed herself for wanting Sasuke to come and save her.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 14<p>

* * *

><p>Sakura was to start her shift at the Konoha General Hospital a couple of weeks after had she settled back into the village. The Konoha General Hospital was quite a busy place. Nins came and went for pre-mission inspection and post-mission inspection. Often, nins would be hospitalized after their missions for a long time, due to the horrendous injuries that were sustained on missions that had gone horribly wrong.<p>

Sakura was already skilled, but had to work her way up from the bottom of the food chain. Shizune-Sama put her in nursing.

Shizune-Sama was not a strict woman, but the moment she called Sakura to her office, Sakura was taken aback. There was a kind of hatred in her eyes. It was so subtle that it flickered once and was gone, like a spluttering candle before a breeze douses it.

Sakura, who was extremely aware when it came to other people's malicious thoughts regarding her, caught that look.

But Shizune's face was emotionless. She said Sakura and she had shared the same Sensei, and she was happy that Sakura was back.

Her words were monotonous, as if she was mechanically saying them to someone who wasn't listening.

Sakura assumed that Shizune hated her for the same reason that everyone else hated her: she had run away from her beautiful home.

Sakura swallowed it all in and didn't try to argue. She could see how much Kakashi-sensei and Naruto cared for her. She couldn't possibly ruin their trust by making a scene just because she was being bullied.

And so began the start of the most excruciating job ever. She barely got any time to rest and other nurses called upon her and ordered her around like she was beneath them.

She was scorned and laughed at by others. She had left her village to chase a fantasy and a dream. Now she had returned and had turned out to be a fool. Nobody believed that she was married to Uchiha Sasuke. Since Sakura had lost her memory, most people believed her to be insane. She was regarded as a crazy idiot. One who chased fantasies, and barely had the comprehension of a two-year old.

Sakura tried to ignore the rumors. If she made a scene, more rumors would ensue. It would probably be to her advantage if she didn't egg them on, and hopefully over time they'd get sick of their nasty little jokes.

Naruto often came by the Hospital to see her. People usually treated her better when Naruto was around, because he was the village hero, and he deserved their respect and reverence.

Sakura enjoyed Naruto's company because whenever he was with her, he brought light to her day. She smiled like a loon whenever he was around. She hated to hear rumors and hated to face them.

Sakura had been in Konoha for almost three weeks now. She was getting to know the village quite well, and had started to get to know some of the people she used to be friends with.

One day, when she was doing her usual rounds, she noticed that one of the patients was not behaving normally. Her face was turning an alarming shade of blue, and she was shaking like a leaf caught in a gale.

Sakura quickly checked the records. Everything seemed to be fine. She checked the oxygen mask for any leaks and it was fine too.

Another nurse rushed in and, upon seeing the patient, started screaming. "Oh my god! Sakura, what have you done?"

"Me?" Sakura yelled incredulously. "What are you talking about?"

"Look at her pulse. She's going into shock!"

Sakura quickly grabbed on to the patient's head. "She's choking! Move aside!"

The nurse protested. "You can't tell me what to do! You're obviously responsible for this. This patient is allergic to penicillin, and you gave her four hundred mils, you little wh -"

Sakura grabbed the nurse and threw her out into the hallway. Turning back to the choking patient, she made a small incision at the base of the girl's throat, and miraculously the girl started to breathe again.

Unfortunately, Shizune had heard the commotion, and rounded the corner to find the little nurse crying her head off and accusing Sakura for being violent towards her.

Sakura was lectured for two hours, before being sent home.

(£~^^~)

When Sakura walked through the door, Hinata wasn't there.

She edged over to the kitchen, planning to reach the ramen from the pantry, but it was too high up.

Suddenly, she was shrouded in a dark shadow, and the figure behind her retrieved the ramen from the cupboard.

She turned around, only to be captured by Sasuke's dark, onyx eyes. He wore a dark robe that covered him from his shoulders to his knees and his hands were bandaged. The faint scent of moongrass emanated from him. He must have been cut and bruised. She noted that he looked a little thinner. That observation felt like a needle poking at her heart.

"What? Not happy to see me?" Sasuke teased with a slight smirk, his eyes looking slightly mischievous. For a moment, Sakura's mind flashed to the photo of Sasuke eight years ago, taken when they were still so young.

Sasuke leaned so close to Sakura that normally she would have been blushing like a tomato.

But today just wasn't her day.

She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him, already choking with small sobs.

"Sakura." His voice had that honey effect on her again, and had she not been so distraught, she would have melted in his arms. But, the effect only made her wince in pain because it reminded her of what she had left behind.

"Did you get bullied?" Sasuke queried almost lovingly. He smoothed out the tangles in her hair and leaned down to kiss away her tears.

Sakura hugged him and cried harder; she snuggled closer into his dark robe and whimpered lightly.

Sasuke's eyes turned cold.

"Tell me," Sasuke demanded lightly, without any emotion. "Who was it? Who upset you? I'll kill them."

She quickly shook her head. "Don't, I... I just want to cry. I missed you, that's all," she whispered.

He blinked. "I was busy."

"I understand."

Sasuke carried Sakura to her room and set her down gently.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura started after a few minutes. "You said your family was boring."

Sasuke shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I don't see why you should be concerned with it."

There was silence for another minute, before Sakura asked another question. "Sasuke-kun, what are you planning?"

"To kill the village Elders," Sasuke replied without hesitation.

"Right now?" Sakura said, surprised.

"No. Sometime during the night," Sasuke corrected lightly, as if plotting to take a life was as normal as mentioning the weather.

"Will you stay with me until then?" Sakura didn't care much about the Elders by that point. It's probably because she didn't even know what they looked like or remember what they had done. She just wanted to curl up in his arms.

"Until the Hyuuga girl gets home. She is able to see me through these walls."

Sakura sighed. "So, Kakashi put me with Hinata-Chan for a reason after all. This village doesn't trust me or accept me. I am more miserable here than I ever was back at home."

Sasuke raised an elegant brow in amusement. "Sakura, they didn't trust or accept you back home either. It's just I forced them to. Would you like me to force these scum to as well?"

Sakura shuddered and winced away from him.

Sasuke frowned, and pulled Sakura back into his arms forcefully. "Sakura," he asked quietly, "what did these people tell you?"

"Everything," Sakura murmured, hiding her face in his chest.

Sasuke sneered in contempt.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura began quietly. "Are you planning on killing everybody in Konoha?"

Sasuke thought for a moment. "I should, but I fail to see the point. After all these years, they must have learnt something."

Sakura sighed in relief.

"Why? I thought you didn't like this village."

"I don't," she protested. "But Naruto would be sad if you did."

Sasuke frowned and pinched her cheeks at the mention of Naruto's name.

Sakura pouted. "Just as I suspected. You weren't faithful either."

"What do you mean?"

"Does the name Karin ring any bell?"

Sasuke thought for a moment, before his expression turned slightly bemusement at the memory. "You mean the women whom I had to sacrifice to kill Danzo? She didn't touch me. She was useful for a while, but she was annoying."

Sakura wanted to cry at his attitude, and indeed tears did start to well up behind her lashes.

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura sighed. "It seems so easy for you to kill someone."

"Not necessarily," he objected softly. "I had to start my plans to kill the Elders three months ago. There were strategies, patterns, guards, and possible jounin that needed to be considered. Also there were the seals outside of Konoha. Those gave me quite some trouble."

Sakura looked up, her lips tracing his collar-bone with feather-light kisses. "How did you get past them?"

"I have people on the inside," Sasuke replied, lightly stroking her pink hair.

"The ANBU who was following me -"

"Taken care of," Sasuke interjected. "I plan on paying Kakashi-Sensei a visit anyway." His voice dripped with sarcasm at the mention of his old sensei.

"Sasuke-Kun, is it true that you have the Uchiha Manual?" Sakura questioned bluntly.

Sasuke's hand did not lift from her hair. "Why?" he asked softly.

"Is it because of the people that are always chasing you and trying to kill you?" Sakura looked at him with worry.

Sasuke laughed, real humor in his tone. She frowned, wondering what she had said that was so funny.

"My little Sakura..." Sasuke chuckled. "You really do have a unique mind."

Sakura looked at him, questions swimming like ghosts in her emerald orbs.

"They say that Madara left the secret to eternal life in the Manual. Men were always trying ways to discover immortality," Sasuke said. "That's why they all want me dead. Revenge and justice are all just flimsy glamors to hide their greed. Everyone is equal, when confronted with death."

Sakura wrapped her arms around his waist. "What do you need me to do?" she asked quietly.

Sasuke looked at her in surprise, but it disappeared within the next second.

"At this point, nothing," he said. "Go to sleep."

Sakura buried her head in his chest, her heart bleeding.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Sakura wasn't stupid after all.

His lips touched her soft hair. This was becoming increasingly disturbing. He wanted to spoil her to no end. He wanted to kill all those who even held the slightest contempt towards her.

And there was also one orange figure that annoyed him like an irritating bug.

Sasuke pinched her cheeks while whispering in her ear, "Don't get too close to Naruto."

She was half asleep when she muttered, "yes, Sasuke-kun."

Outside, the sun fell below the horizon.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 15<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Two years ago<strong>_

It was raining quite heavily when Sakura arrived at the stone bridge.

The bridge was already heavily damaged, and it looked like it was on the verge of collapsing.

Sasuke was there standing next to a girl. The girl had fallen down and was unable to move. There was blood on her clothes, and in a small puddle around her.

Sakura stepped lightly onto the bridge's path, and called out tentatively, "Sasuke-Kun?"

How foolish she was back then.

She thought she had grown up. She thought that she was a brave woman. She thought that she had the courage, the ability...

She didn't.

Sasuke was in his coldest, most ruthless form back then. Too bad she stumbled upon him during the cruelest part of his life.

Sakura begged to go with him. She claimed to still love him, and would do anything for him.

Sasuke agreed, on the one condition that she killed Karin – the bleeding, red headed girl sitting near him.

Sakura was put in a difficult position, but she didn't lose sight of her goal. She bit her lip and pulled out a kunai, before stabbing it straight into Karin.

It wasn't fatal. At that moment, Kakashi interrupted.

So, in the end, Sakura followed Sasuke to the cave where she spent the next year of her life; cold and in silence.

Uchiha Madara was a man who liked to be in control of everything. He asked what Sakura was able to do, and Sakura showed him her  
>healing abilities.<p>

He told her that she was to prepare for the transferal of Sasuke's eyes.

For the next month, Sakura lived in squalor. She spent most of her days in the library, where she wouldn't be harassed and bullied, and the rest of her time preparing herbs and medicine.

At the end of that month, she successfully transferred Itachi's eyes into Sasuke.

She couldn't help but compare the two brothers as they both lay on the metallic tables, side by side. One was dead, the other breathing faintly. One had sacrificed himself and all he held dear in his quest for peace. The other had sacrificed his humanity in his quest for chaos.

Her dreams and fantasies of a happy life with Sasuke, if not gone before, were completely shattered now.

Sakura, having not been prepared, didn't think that she would make it. She knew that Sasuke was not the same as before. He no longer showed compassion or kindness towards his teammates. Compassion was why Kakashi had allowed Sasuke to pass in the first place.

When she looked down upon the almost blind boy, she felt no compassion for him. She fervently thought that he had brought everything upon himself. There was nothing she could feel about him.

But then why did her heart almost always hurt?

When he rejected her kindness countless times, she gave up trying to be nice. She viewed him as a ruthless individual who tortured his subjects when he was in a foul mood. That pretty much summarized him, anyway.

He loved to torture her too. He verbally abused her to no end.

"Sakura, do you still love me? Even seeing me the way I am now, will you still admit that you are willing to sacrifice everything for me?" he would ask sarcastically.

What could Sakura say? There was nothing left to say.

Her interaction with Sasuke was limited to him growling for her to hurry up with the process of healing his eyes. She explained patiently why it wouldn't be a good idea to use chakra healing on an organ so delicate.

But both Sakura and Sasuke knew that when he took off those bandages, he would have the strongest eyes in the world.

A pair of crimson red eyes, that would forever taint his world as blood-washed.

Present day

Naruto walked alongside Sakura towards the Hokage's office. She had been summoned by Kakashi.

Naruto knew what Kakashi-Sensei was going to ask, but he didn't feel like talking about it at that moment.

He looked at the girl next to him. She wore her forehead protector as a means of keeping her hair in place, much like she had when they were still genin.

His eyes flashed for a second. This was the girl he had cared for all his life.

A few months ago she was so different. She was stubborn, ignorant, and dying.

Now, Naruto felt like he had been turned by the wheel of time, and Sakura was the only girl who had been turned in the opposite direction.

Poor, dear Sakura-chan...

Naruto tore his eyes away from the girl. She looked so innocent and ignorant of the outside world. She didn't know anything, and Naruto wanted it to stay that way.

He had fought hard through in his life trying to preserve the sort of peace that shone in Sakura's eyes. He didn't want his efforts to be viewed as fruitless.

He sincerely hoped that Kakashi would go easy on Sakura.

But as it turned out, Kakashi wasn't so fine and dandy that day either.

Kakashi-Sama, the Hokage, was woken by his former pupil in the middle of the night. And it wasn't Naruto.

Needless to say, he was surprised when his sleepy gaze was penetrated by a pair of blood red eyes that swirled like pinwheels.

"Kakashi-sensei." The voice dripped with sarcasm. "I've given your dear little Sakura back to this god forsaken village. The least you could do is treat her nicely."

Before Kakashi could speak, Sasuke continued. "Oh, and by the way, infiltration was a piece of cake."

And he was gone.

That was typical of Sasuke. He had always loved to flaunt his abilities.

So Kakashi had woken up in the middle of the night, scared half to death because he thought Sasuke had gone right ahead and killed everybody in the village...

Apparently, Sasuke had not inherited his ancestor's courtesy of informing the nations before attacking them. He just waltzed in, killed whomever he so desired, and waltzed out.

When Kakashi had confirmed that no citizen was hurt, he breathed out a sigh of relief that had been held in his heart for the last three hours.

But then, news came that the Elders were dead. All eleven of them.

Now, Kakashi was weary again.

He had spent the last few months desperately trying to open relationships with other nations regarding Sasuke, and now it was all in vain.

Kakashi suspected that Sakura had been in contact with Sasuke, mainly due to the fact that Shizune had been critically wounded during the night. Her injury was an act of mockery towards Kakashi, informing him to take better care of his pupils.

Sasuke didn't even attempt to hide his chakra signature. It could be traced exactly to where Shizune lived. Sasuke had made a human blood sculpture out of the poor girl.

Kakashi frowned. Showing mercy shows compassion. Cruelty is coldness; therefore, it could not receive power. If power was Sasuke's philosophy, why would he bother attacking Shizune? That would have to imply that he cared for Sakura.

Perhaps, after all this time, his mercy was well deserved.

Did that mean that the Leaf had leverage against Sasuke?

Kakashi pondered the thought. This was a step he had to take into careful consideration. Sasuke did not seem to be the type of person who left any weaknesses behind, especially in the territory of his enemy. And so, in the middle of the night, he ordered Shikamaru to the Hokage tower to analyze the situation. Kakashi suddenly felt too old to be trying to understand what the younger generation felt.

And it all happened last night. Kakashi replayed the situation in his head over and over again when Sakura was brought into the room.

"You called me, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura mumbled.

Kakashi observed his most emotionally fragile ex-pupil.

She certainly didn't sound as happy as she was back when she was first brought to him. Perhaps now she was even more troubled. He remembered that she only mumbled when she was desperately trying to hide something from him, which was pointless anyway. He had always been able to read her like a book, ever since her genin days.

Kakashi was absolutely certain that she had been in contact with Sasuke.

"Sakura-Chan, have you seen Sasuke in the last twenty-four hours?" he asked patiently.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura answered truthfully.

Kakashi was surprised by her honesty, but continued to question her. "Did you relay any information regarding Konoha to him?"

"No, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura replied.

Sakura remembered a conversation she'd had with Sasuke the previous day.

_"What if Kakashi-Sensei asks me about you?"_

_"Just tell him the truth," he replied. "That there is nothing he can do about me."_

She thought that that made sense. So, she told the truth. She honestly didn't know much about him that could that could make him much of a threat. Also, she didn't know anything about Sasuke for her to be a threat to Konoha either.

Kakashi thought for a moment, deciding how best to begin his five minute lecture. Five minutes was all he had for patience,

anyways.

"Sakura-Chan," He began, "you were my favorite student back in the genin days."

Sakura widened her eyes in surprise. "Oh."

"Mainly because you didn't make any trouble for anyone, nor did you harm anyone."

Sakura listened dutifully as he went on.

"I just want you to know how dangerous Sasuke is. He is a criminal. If you weren't his teammate and if you didn't have feelings for him back then, I'd say you were displaying symptoms of Stockholm syndrome. But I'm fairly certain you've spent your whole life chasing him, therefore I wouldn't say it's SS. But Sakura, you need to realize that he has killed hundreds and hundreds of people, perhaps thousands. He has purged so many of his own subjects and citizens. He has taken over most of the criminal organizations, and therefore he is a very dangerous and immediate threat. Mercy does not appear in his vocabulary. Sakura-chan, you said you haven't consummated your marriage to him yet, so I ruled out perhaps the only thing you could be of use to him. Of course, he is planning on restoring his clan. If you are not planning on carrying his child, his mercy for you may very well be  
>fake. Even if you are planning on carrying his child, Uchiha Sasuke is not one to show kindness and affection. He associates those emotions with weakness. He perhaps placed you here to infiltrate Konoha. Sakura-Chan, I want you to be very, very clear on this: Do. Not. Get. Close. To. Uchiha. Sasuke. One day, you will regret it," Kakashi finished. He felt tired after talking so much, especially when he knew that there wasn't a single word that Sakura had taken in.<p>

Sometime later, Sakura looked back upon her life and wondered, if she had bothered to listen to her dear Sensei, she wouldn't  
>have suffered such excruciating pain.<p>

But this was the present. And the present Sakura did not listen to Kakashi. She loved Sasuke too much. It was too painful to  
>consider letting go.<p>

Kakashi waved his hand tiredly, dismissing the roseate. Sakura walked out of the Hokage's office, her head spinning.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

I decided to take a break from updating my other stories. If there are no strong opposition I shall do so. If there is, I will stop playing RPG games and update stories.

* * *

><p>Chapter 16-rain<p>

The month of August went by quickly. Soon, there were knitted hats and scarves appearing on the streets. There were even signs of cloaks and winter jackets as they fluttered in the chilly breeze.

It was on a chilly September night that Ino decided they should all take a night off and drink together.

She forced everyone to come, and pretty much succeeded in doing so because first, she convinced the Kazekage to.

Gaara was in Konoha that day, discussing business with Kakashi. Ino pounced on him right after he walked out of Kakashi's office.

"Come on, it'll be fun! Naruto is coming, Sakura is coming… Dude, you can't say no to these people," Ino pleaded sternly.

Actually, Ino hadn't asked Naruto or Sakura yet, but what the Kazekage didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

To Kankuro and Temari's dismay, they were left behind to handle the paperwork for the night. Gaara, after a few seconds of consideration, decided that socializing with the citizens of Konoha might not be such a bad idea.

So Ino jogged off happy, because she had the Kazekage on her side. She could force practically anyone to come now.

"Shikamaru, even the Kazekage is coming. You can't expect me to believe that you won't come, purely out of laziness! Let me put it this way: if you are not going to come, I will kick your ass out of Konoha and you can go back to Sand and do whatever you want with that 'fan-whore'!"

Ino had a vivid imagination.

Shikamaru had had to explain to her countless times that there was nothing going on between him and Temari. Temari was just an excellent Kunoichi. That's all. To which Ino turned up her nose and asked, "So I'm not an excellent Kunoichi, then?"

Shikamaru very much wanted to say yes, but resisted the urge to do so.

He also wanted to say, "You don't need to be. You can just go play and enjoy life while I handle everything," but he decided that that was too 'emotional' for the day. He had already exerted enough emotion by pretending to care about her stupid drinking party.

Choji was no problem. As soon as Ino said "party", he opened his mouth to question her. Before he could say anything, Ino interjected with, "Yes, it's a party, Choji. Of course there will be food."

Ino went around Konoha, and soon arrived at Sai's residence. She figured it probably wouldn't be too hard, since Sai was reading a book called, 'Socializing: your guide to being super popular.'

Ino extended the invitation and Sai responded with his usual fake enthusiasm.

Ino then went to Kiba's house. Although some dogs over there scared her, she still managed to get Kiba to come. After that, she went to Shino's house; he agreed that drinking with friends every now and then would be fun.

Next, she went to the training grounds, where she saw Tenten. Apparently Neji and Lee were out on a mission. But the good news was that Tenten said she could come.

Then she went to Naruto's house and asked him if he could come. Naruto agreed, excited by the idea.

Finally, Ino made her way towards Sakura's home, with Hinata.

It wasn't that Ino was trying to distance herself from Sakura on purpose. It was just that Ino was a little resentful of Sakura.

Sakura was her best friend. The friendship they had went back a number of years, until she disregarded Ino's warning and friendship, and went to chase Sasuke blindly. Ino had not seen Sakura for the next two years and three months.

And after those two years and three months, Sakura had lost her memory. So when she looked Ino in the eye, with her innocent green gaze, and said, "Hello. My name is Sakura," Ino burst into tears.

If Sakura had remembered her, her first words to Ino would have been, "Oh my gawwwwwd, you've gotten so fat!"

Of course, Ino hadn't actually gained any weight. Everybody always greeted the blonde with, "Hi Ino, have you lost weight?" but that was probably due to the fact that her fist had taught everybody that when saying hello to Ino, the first thing you do is ask, "Oh my, Ino. Have you lost weight?"

Sai once tried to clarify things with Ino. "Ino-san, why do you insist on everybody telling you that you have lost weight? If what everybody has been saying is true, then you would probably be a skeleton by now. And why are you raising your fist at me? I'm merely stating the tru - Ouch!"

Sai quickly learned that the truth hurts. Literally.

Anyway, Ino stood in front of Sakura and Hinata's apartment, staring at the front door, for a good five minutes.

Inside, Hinata carefully knocked on Sakura's door.

"Yes?" Sakura asked, her eyes still drowsy with sleep and her pajamas still rumpled.

"Sakura-Chan..." Hinata asked timidly.

"Yes?" Sakura yawned.

"Did you... Did you call Ino-Chan to our home?" the girl asked, quite worried.

"No, why?" Sakura questioned.

Hinata looked outside of the door without turning her head. "It's just that... Ino-Chan has been standing outside for quite some time. She didn't knock either so I thought you must have called her..."

Sakura sat up abruptly, all thoughts of sleep gone. "She's still out there?"

"Hai... Now she's... Oh dear... She's crying..."

Sakura frowned. She walked to the front door, and reached for the handle.

And hesitated.

Somehow, she didn't have the courage to open the door, however thin and light it was. Sakura could hear Ino sobbing on the other side of the door. For some reason, she didn't like it. Smiles always suited the bright haired girl.

So, she whispered, "Ino?"

Immediately, the sobbing stopped.

Sakura waited for a while. There was no response. So she put her hand on the door and said, "Ino-Chan… Ino-Chan… I am so sorry..."

"What are you sorry for?" a small voice came from the other side. "You have nothing to be sorry about. You can't help it."

Sakura put both her hands on her door. "I... Ino-Chan, I'm sorry if I don't remember. But... But I really do like you. I am sure of that when I first saw you..."

Ino felt extreme anger rear up in her gut like an enraged serpent. She pushed on the door as hard as she could, and it smacked Sakura against her forehead with a loud "BAM!"

Sakura pushed the door away, then glared at Ino. "What was that for?" She smacked the door against Ino's head in turn.

Ino glared at Sakura, "Stupid Sakura! Stupid, stupid Sakura!"

"What do you want!" Sakura demanded.

"This!" Ino yelled louder, "I want both of you to be at the bar tonight at seven! If you don't come I'm personally going to come back over here and scream my head off!"

Sakura stared in amazement as Ino stormed out of her apartment as quickly as she had come in.

Hinata, who was hiding behind the door, asked timidly, "Sakura-chan... Are you alright?"

Before Hinata could fully express her worry, Ino ran back and yelled at Sakura. "Haruno, you are fatter than I am!"

And she ran off.

Sakura stared, completely baffled and bemused. "Uh, I... I need some ... Uh... What just happened?"

(€^#^~)

Sakura didn't realize that when Ino said it was a 'drinking party', she actually meant hardcore drinking.

Everybody arrived. It was getting quite noisy. Naruto was busy asking Gaara for some tips on being a Kage. Since Gaara decided that now was as good time to educate him as any, he patiently explained the duties a Kage must undertake. You had to sit through a lot of paperwork, attend many meetings, meet many rich and old people, deal with a lot of old  
>thinking and traditions...<p>

Naruto soon lost interest. In the conversation, that is. He didn't lose interest in being a Hokage.

So Gaara turned to Shikamaru, and they discussed International Relations.

Naruto was eating barbecued meat with Choji, whilst the sound of Ino yelling, "Another round! Another round!" sliced through the air.

Ino was engaged in hardcore drinking along with Kiba and Tenten.

Ino was glaring at Gaara and Shikamaru, while muttering things that sounded strangely similar to, "That stupid Kazekage's sister is driving me insane. Shikamaru is such a lazy bum..."

Kiba was declaring his love for Hinata. Hinata was shrinking away uncomfortably; her cheeks flushed an odd crimson.

Tenten yelled, "I am stuck with the worst team ever!"

Confused, Ino queried as to the reason behind her statement. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about that Hyuuga Bastard!"

Hinata turned to Tenten. "Tenten-Chan, what did my cousin do that made you so mad?"

"He stole my heart!" the brunette screamed with drunken vigor.

"DUUUUUUDE!" Ino slurred. "You are so drunk! Tenten, you are drunk! Tenten! Neji is behind you!"

Tenten quickly whipped around and saw nothing. When she turned back around to groggily face Ino, she saw the blonde laughing her head off.

"Ino, I hope Temari succeeds in getting your boyfriend." Tenten glared and Ino sulked.

Sai was talking with Shino, to everyone's surprise.

Sakura slowly drank cup after cup of cherry wine. That was when Ino patted Sakura's shoulders and asked, "So, Sakura, I heard you got married to Sasuke. What's that like?"

At the mention of Sasuke's name, most people stopped talking and listened attentively.

Sakura didn't respond.

Ino said in a heavy voice, "Sakura, dear, I so wish that... That..." She lost her train of thought.

That was when Tenten piped in and said, "Ino is just jealous that you have Sasuke and she doesn't!"

Ino calmed down and glared at Tenten for a full five seconds. Putting down her cup of sake, "Yeah, I am," she admitted softly.

Sakura felt like crying. "I know you guys are worried about me... I just..."

Ino immediately hushed her because at that moment she took a big gulp and drank the rest of her sake. She set her cup down on the table with a slam and asked Sakura in a serious voice, "Sakura, is Sasuke good in bed?"

Sakura was at a loss for words.

Tenten roared with laughter while Hinata blushed like a tomato. Naruto choked on his barbecue.

Shikamaru stood up. "That's it. Too much drinking. Time to go ho -"

Ino shot him a glare that pierced right through his mouth and made him shut up. He sat down again.

Tenten breathed out while laughing. "Idiot, Ino. She's not gonna tell you that unless you tell us how Shikamaru is."

Ino shot her a glare too. "Have you slept with Hyuuga yet?"

Tenten yelled at the top of her lungs, "Don't even mention his freaking name to me! I hate him! I hate that dude! I hate Nejiiiiiii!"

Sakura stared in horror as Neji, still dressed in Jounin uniform, appeared behind Tenten.

Hinata was desperately trying to save Tenten from the horror. She whispered, "Uh, Tenten-Chan, he... Neji-niisan..."

"Tenten, Neji really is behind you!" Ino proudly took the liberty of informing her brunette friend loudly, cutting off Hinata's stammered speech.

Tenten pointed at Ino using a beer bottle. "I'm not gonna fall for that! Hyuuga is on a mission and there is nothing he can do about -"

Tenten swung her beer bottle and it cracked against Neji's head.

She swung around and saw the Jounin, who was taller than her by about one and a half heads.

If Sakura had never previously believed that someone's face could turn from red to green in an instant, she now firmly believed it.

"You're drunk," Neji stated calmly. "Come with me. We are going home."

Tenten didn't protest. She looked down in shame.

Shikamaru quickly stood up and apologized to Gaara. "Ino, let's go home."

Ino, seeing that her drinking partner had been whisked back home, sighed, and patted Sakura on the head. "Take care, dear."

Sakura was completely drunk by that point, and was giggling hysterically to herself.

Slowly, everyone went home. Naruto escorted Sakura and Hinata back home, and the night of craziness ended.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

I decided to take a break from updating my other stories. If there are no strong opposition I shall do so. If there is, I will stop playing RPG games and update stories.

* * *

><p>Chapter 17<p>

Sakura was slowly becoming accustomed to the ways of Konoha.

Downstairs from her apartment, there was a steamed bun shop across the street. She purchased one every morning for breakfast, before jogging to the hospital to start her shift.

With Shizune gone, Sakura had to pick up the slack to reflect her rank as a medic. She saved countless lives every day. People were slowly starting to respect her again. At least they didn't gossip in front of her anymore.

Sometimes, after work, she would go drinking with Ino to blow off some steam. In secret, of course; the boys disapproved of their drinking habits.

Sometimes, she would go to Naruto's, and they would wolf down bowls of ramen whilst talking and laughing about the most mundane of topics.

Sometimes, she would go grocery shopping with Hinata.

Sometimes she would tend to the flower shop with Ino.

Those days seemed peaceful, and Sakura enjoyed every minute of them. When she was amongst the various bulbs and flora, she could forget the deaths that she usually saw on a daily basis.

She knew that the ANBU rarely followed her anymore. She was glad for that.

A couple of months passed and the season steadily grew colder. The New Year was just around the corner.

One surprisingly warm afternoon, Hinata and Sakura purchased a hotpot and went home to prepare the ingredients together.

It was a fun process. Sakura cut up the meat and vegetables while Hinata boiled the water and stirred the sauce.

When they sat down, they immediately dug in to their bowls of steaming hot meat and veggies.

Sakura asked how Hinata's day was, and Hinata replied that it was good. She had gone back to the main household to bid good health to her family. On her way back, she had encountered Naruto, who seemed to acknowledge her existence, much to the dark-haired girl's mortification and delight. Hinata then asked Sakura how her day was. Sakura said that she'd rather not talk about it, seeing as she didn't want to have to relay the lives they'd lost at the hospital that day.

Then they ate some more, until Hinata timidly mentioned a problem.

"Sakura-Chan?"

Sakura was rubbing her full stomach appreciatively. She lay down on the couch. "Yes?" she questioned, her voice lazy.

Hinata was hesitant to voice the problem that beleaguered her. "Sakura-Chan... Does... Does Uchiha-San know that you live here?"

Sakura snapped her eyes open and looked at Hinata, all signs of idleness gone.

To her surprise, Hinata didn't back down from her gaze.

Sakura closed her eyes again. "Yes, he does."

"Sakura-Chan, Kakashi-Sama told me to keep a closer eye on you. But I don't want to intrude on your personal life."

Sakura smiled lightly. "Hinata-Chan, just do what Kakashi-Sensei tells you to do. Ninety nine percent of the time he is right."

Hinata looked at her, puzzled.

Sakura continued to speak. "Sasuke hasn't visited me recently. He isn't planning on inflicting damage to the village. If he did, we would have been dead quite a long time ago."

Hinata said a silent prayer in the hope that Sakura was right in her belief that Sasuke wasn't planning on attacking  
>the village.<p>

Sakura pulled up a cover from behind the couch and cocooned herself within the folds.

From inside the covers, her voice issued. "That being said, if you hear a noise or something coming from my room, I don't think it'd be wise to use the Byakugan.

Hinata sighed.

As if by coincidence, Hinata was called upon to do a mission the very next day. Even though it was a short mission, Sakura had the apartment to herself for a couple of days.

The first day she half expected Sasuke to appear around every corner she turned. But it was soon quite obvious that he wasn't coming to her.

Trying desperately to not express her frustration and disappointment, she went to Ino's house after work in the hopes that she would help Sakura blow off some steam.

But Ino was not home.

Then Sakura remembered that Ino had been sent on a mission as well.

Apparently, there had been many small battles around the borders. Some grief caused by Uchiha Sasuke.

Well, not actually caused...

It went like this: The Lightning country had demanded loyalty from the Water Country and its allies to help them in their 'investigation' of Uchiha Sasuke.

The Water country was reluctant because Sand and Konoha were against Lightning and its ways of dealing with Sasuke. So Water had to choose a side, and no matter what side it took, there would be conflict.

Unfortunately, the Water Country's Daimyo was an ambitious fellow. He longed for the secret of immortality. So, he sided with Lighting.

Now, the countries were on the brink of war, again.

But the nations had only just started to recover from war, and everyone was desperately trying to preserve the peace. So, major declaration of war had not happened yet, but minor battles and conflicts were making everyone nervous.

Then there was the rumor that Uchiha Sasuke was gathering a large amount of supporters and rogue ninjas. His real intentions were unknown, but no doubt it was to help start a war.

Kakashi was wearier than usual. And when Kakashi was weary, Sakura felt bad.

With so many things happening around her, she felt completely helpless.

Sakura walked back from Ino's house only to encounter Lee as he was about to pass her.

"Hello, Sakura-Chan! It's a good afternoon!" Lee said enthusiastically. There were hints of a suspicious red blush on his cheeks.

Sakura didn't know what to say, but Lee didn't really wait for her to reply anyway. "Sakura-Chan, it would give me great pleasure if you would receive this as a token of my affections!"

Sakura was surprised that there wasn't a word regarding youth in his sentence. She accepted Lee's gift, and Lee raced away as fast as he could once the gift was out of his hands, leaving Sakura to stand on the streets, quite perplexed.

It took Sakura a few seconds to look down and see that he had given her a rose.

The roseate smiled at the gesture. That was nice of him.

Sakura quickly walked back home and found a vase. She filled it with water, and put the rose in place.

She then took off her heavy winter jacket and, with leaden footsteps, tromped to her room.

As soon as she stepped into her room, she was pressed up against the wall, a heavy body bearing down upon her.

She was startled at first, and then quickly relaxed, recognising the figure to be Sasuke. Her excitement and happiness outweighed her surprise. She wriggled her arms inside his robe and wrapped them around his waist, sighing in pure bliss.

Sasuke didn't make any further moves except to lean down and rest his head on her shoulder.

Sakura didn't realise that it was possible to feel as happy as she did at that moment. Her whole soul lit up with his appearance, and she clung to him desperately, pressing every part of her body against his as if trying to convince herself that it wasn't a dream.

"Sakura..." Sasuke whispered in her ear.

Sakura shivered at the sound of his deep voice. It was so dark and seductive. It had the ability to make her heart flutter in pure delight.

Sasuke bit her earlobe gently, and in response, Sakura gripped onto his shoulders harder.

Sasuke spoke again, his voice a teasing caress to her ears. "Sakura, why did you accept such an ugly gift from such an ugly man?"

Sakura was startled by his question. "That was just Lee, we -"

She was silenced by his kisses, her attempts to excuse herself lost beneath layers of hot lust.

Sasuke breathed heavily, his tongue tracing the outline of her lips. "Did you miss me?" he asked huskily.

"Yes," Sakura breathed, truth leaking through the fabric of her voice. She leaned in to kiss him again.

"I missed you too," Sasuke whispered after breaking the kiss. "I missed you so much. Every part of my body hurt. While I was outside busy, you were seducing local Nins."

"No," Sakura quickly defended herself. "I didn't, Sasuke-Kun -"

Sasuke threw her on the bed and took off his cloak.

She trembled in excitement. "Sasuke-Kun..."

He leaned down and kissed her while his hands were busy exploring her body and removing her clothing. Her nearly tore, so great was his haste.

Sakura was surprised by her attitude. She realized that there wasn't a single bone in her body denying him his wishes. She had wanted him for so long; she had loved him all her life. She was willing to give him her everything.

Before he entered her, he whispered in her ear, "Sakura, don't betray me..."

She tangled her fingers in his hair. "I won't." She could see herself reflected in his obsidian eyes.

His eyes seemed to be talking to her. Saying everything his mouth refused to. She watched her reflection and knew in that instant that he had trapped her. He had taken her away and locked her in his heart. That was why she was unable to resist him. She couldn't escape - she was doomed from the moment she had first laid eyes on him.

Thinking of that, she closed her eyes and fell into passion.

'It doesn't matter,' Sakura thought. 'As long as I'm with you, it doesn't matter.'


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

I decided to take a break from updating my other stories. If there are no strong opposition I shall do so. If there is, I will stop playing RPG games and update stories.

And to some of the previous reviews...No, I will not abandon this story because it's already written... Yes. All 50 chapters. Last semester I had nothing to do much.

And LMAO HAHAHHA YES I UPDATED THE WRONG FILE.

I laughed so hard when I woke up and checked my email. I was wondering what was going on.

Well this chapter isn't as interesting as I hope it would for you guys after a 5 day gap, but I will update the next chapter really soon.

Sorry for the update. I cannot believe I did that...

* * *

><p>Chapter 18<p>

Two years ago

The fourth great ninja war had started.

Sakura didn't know if she was lucky or unfortunate that she wasn't out fighting in the midst of it all. Madara had given her strict instructions to take care of Sasuke's eyes.

It was as if Madara wanted to be the main focal point of the war, but he called Kabuto as well, so as to bring his not-quite-dead puppets along with him.

Kabuto had turned into a snake-like creature by that stage. He had truly lost all sense of good and evil. As each day passed, he went from bad to worse.

He had managed to lower himself into the lowest of the low.

Sakura avoided him as much as possible, hoping to stay as insignificant as possible so as to not become a part of his psychological experiments. After just a few weeks of being in Kawa, she had discovered just how inhumane Kabuto really was.

While Sakura wasn't working on healing Sasuke's eyes, she spent her day gathering herbs or reading medical books. It was becoming increasingly disturbing to Sakura that the fourth great Shinobi war had already started, and she couldn't do anything to help her friends.

When Sakura entered Sasuke's room one time, Sasuke sensed her chakra, and sneered slightly.

Sakura was extremely annoyed by Sasuke's attitude. Not only was he conceited and arrogant, he also had this way of belittling anyone who showed even the slightest bit of sympathy towards him. Sakura shook her head lightly, as if to ward the negative thoughts away. She needed to concentrate on Sasuke's eyes, and she couldn't do that if she was internally cursing him.

"How many days left?" Sasuke asked the roseate.

Sakura carefully applied healing herbs and a paste around his eyes before she re-bandaged it with extreme caution.

"Fifteen," she replied, while tying a loose knot at the back of his head.

He showed no emotion. How could he? The only part of him that portrayed the smallest hint of emotion was covered up.

"If you've done a good job, I might consider of not killing you," Sasuke said mockingly.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him, though she knew that he couldn't see it.

"I'm so honored," she responded, sarcasm layered thick in her voice.

He played with his kunai for a moment. "Sakura, I need you do to something for me."

Sakura was cleaning up her trays, but she looked at him expectantly.

"I need you to study up a jutsu, a particular sealing jutsu."

"What do you mean?" Sakura questioned.

He sighed in annoyance. "As you know, the war has broken out. I heard that Kabuto is using a certain resurrection jutsu to bring back the dead. I want you to research deeper into that. I want to know if it's possible to seal the resurrected back into their grave. And if so, how?"

Sakura understood. "Oh. Okay then. I suppose a little research couldn't hurt. I'll get right on that."

Sasuke once again sighed in annoyance. "I don't just mean researching in the library."

She waited for him to continue.

"The main battlefield is the best place to research that kind of thing... Don't you think?" he suggested cruelly.

Sakura turned away from him, her emotions hidden in the darkness and walked out of the room without looking back.

(€^^%)

Present day

Sakura woke up almost fifteen hours later.

Even though she did not expect Sasuke to be there, she was still a little down.

She thought of what had happened and blushed furiously. Sakura could not believe that that had actually happened! It felt like it had been a dream. She  
>couldn't think about anything else at that moment. Her heart was overflowing with pure happiness and love.<p>

Every pore on her skin seemed to be leaking out happy feelings. Sakura buried her head in the pillow; she could still smell his forest-y scent. The faint smell  
>of leaves permeated her pillow. She wondered if he felt something too. She wondered if he was as happy as she was.<p>

Sakura rolled around in bed. She couldn't stop smiling.

She suspected that they had gotten married months ago, but she was as high as a newlywed. It was embarrassing, but she couldn't help it. She loved him so  
>unconditionally that if he came to her and told her to die right at that second, she would.<p>

Suddenly, Sakura understood a little of how her sixteen year old self had felt.

It was so hard to pull away from his spell; practically impossible. Her mind was constantly wrapping itself around him. He was her everything, her entire  
>existence. He had locked her away, and she couldn't pull free because she was willing to be his prisoner.<p>

Kakashi's words echoed through Sakura's mind. He had warned her over and over again to stay away from Sasuke. To not to have anything to do with him...

"I'm sorry, Sensei. I can't do it," Sakura whispered, soft enough for her ears alone.

But, what was it that Kakashi was so afraid of? What wasn't he telling Sakura?

Sakura hated it - the look that Kakashi always gave her. It was excruciatingly shameful, as if he expected a great catastrophe to fall upon her.

Thinking about that, she buried her head underneath the covers until Hinata came in.

"Sakura Chan?" Hinata asked timidly.

Sakura pulled off the covers and faced the shy Kunoichi. "Hinata Chan, I feel like... Like everybody has been hiding things from me. I know I lost all of my  
>memories, but I really want to know..."<p>

Hinata's face went white as a sheet.

Well, she was already very pale, but Hinata had turned paler than usual at her question.

Sakura raised a brow. "Hinata Chan?"

"I'll go make some honey-lemon tea," Hinata hedged, her words tumbling from her mouth.

Sakura grabbed on to the girls sleeve, but Hinata was so determined to get away that she didn't even flinch when her sleeve ripped.

Sakura held the ripped sleeve and watched as Hinata, shaking with fear, ran away.

What was it that Hinata was so afraid to tell her?

Something fishy was going on. Sakura was beginning to think that things were not as simple as she had been led to believe. How exactly did they defeat this  
>Madara fellow? And how exactly did the fourth great Shinobi war end? Why were the villages in so much turmoil?<p>

Sakura was not a curious girl by nature, but she felt increasingly more disturbed when she was the only one who didn't remember such a large portion of her life.

She needed to find out, and soon.

* * *

><p>AN: Mhmm.. sorry for the late update. Quite busy.

It's becoming increasingly clear that I need to make some sort of major revision on the later chapters of this story so I don't post that much crappy writing. Well either ways. I love you all.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

I decided to take a break from updating my other stories. If there are no strong opposition I shall do so. If there is, I will stop playing RPG games and update stories.

And to some of the previous reviews...No, I will not abandon this story because it's already written... Yes. All 50 chapters. Last semester I had nothing to do much.

* * *

><p>Chapter 19<p>

Although the New Year was quickly approaching, Sakura found herself unable to get into the festive mood.

There were more and more patients being shipped to the hospital like cattle. She was often woken up in the middle of the night to take on shifts.

There wasn't really any time to fool around anymore. More often than not she would see her friends in the hospital rather than in a normal place, such as a restaurant or the training grounds.

The plight for good nins was increasing by the day. She used up most of her chakra trying to get people to heal faster because there was always a need for more hospital beds.

More often than not, there would be patients who were dying in the hallways, whom Sakura tried to tend to as best she could when she had a minor respite.

She often wondered what exactly was happening outside of the town that made everybody so wounded and anxious.

She had just finished working a forty eight hour shift and she trudged back to her apartment.

Hinata wasn't there. Sakura could tell because Hinata would usually brew lemon-honey tea, just as Sakura walked in the door.

As the roseate walked into the kitchen, she saw a shrouded shape leaning against the counter, seemingly awaiting her entrance.

She grew weary, and as happy as she was to see him, Sasuke was the last person she wanted to see at that moment.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her exhaustion leaking into her voice.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "That was very inconsiderate, Sakura."

Sakura sighed. She smelled tea, and saw that Sasuke was drinking some.

"May I have some?" Sakura asked. She could barely keep her eyelids from drifting closed.

Sasuke leaned against the counter. "Come here."

She stumbled into his arms. "Sasuke-kun," she breathed.

He bent down and kissed her, and she felt tea sliding down her throat. Mmhmm, that was a nice way to drink tea.

After the kiss, she pouted. "More."

Sasuke chuckled. "So eager."

She snuggled against his body. If felt warm and comfortable. She snaked her arms around his waist and hugged him like anyone would a teddy bear.

"You are the nicest pillow I've ever had," Sakura whispered.

Sasuke buried his nose in her pink hair. "Mmhmm... Me too."

Sakura summoned up the energy to ask, "What's going on outside? Why are there more casualties than ever?"

Sasuke coughed a little. "Kabuto is causing some unnecessary problems."

"What exactly does he want?"

"Oh, a lot of things. Power, immortality. All that shit."

Sakura frowned. Sasuke was about ambiguous as he gets. He clearly didn't want her to know anything.

Sasuke kissed her palm. "Sakura, you shouldn't worry about these things. You're safest when you're with me."

Sakura looked up and used a finger to trace his cheekbones. "You've gotten thinner again," she commented, worry in her voice.

He grabbed onto her hand and buried his cheek in her palm. "I missed you," he said. "Come back with me."

She jolted from the shock that his question induced. "What?"

"Come back to Kawa with me," he reiterated.

Sakura immediately shook her head. "This village needs me."

Sasuke didn't press any further. He carried her to her room and set her down.

"Sasuke-kun...?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

Sasuke opened his eyes, and gave Sakura the most tender look she had ever seen him give.

But it was soon gone, replaced by a slightly bemused expression. "How can I not know? You have told me abundantly how much you love me all my life."

She kicked him in the shin.

He grunted and pinched her cheeks mercilessly.

"Sasuke-kun, what I meant was, I lost my memory, so this proves that I have fallen in love with you a second time," Sakura said, pouting.

"Oh, I see."

"What do you mean 'you see'? I just confessed my feelings to you!"

Sasuke sighed. The conversation was making his head hurt.

"You have to say you love me too," she continued.

"I love you," Sasuke repeated.

Sakura blushed like a tomato, and buried her head in Sasuke's arms. She felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled.

"Shut up!" Sakura groaned in frustration. She bit Sasuke's collar lightly as he flipped her over and pulled her zipper down.

He was right. She felt the safest when she was in his arms.

**Two years ago**

Sakura was pounding away on some fireroots when the door behind her opened.

She ignored it, assuming that it was one of the guards who often came to deliver news to her. Sasuke probably just needed a cup of water, and he wanted her to get it.

"Yes?" she questioned, without turning her head.

There was no response, which was weird.

She turned around and immediately jumped from fright.

Kabuto, in all his ugly malevolence, was standing behind her.

"Dear Kami," Sakura gasped, before subtly shifting away from him. "What do you want?"

Kabuto stared into her eyes, and Sakura quickly averted her gaze.

"Sakura Chan, you are healing Sasuke's eyes, correct?"

Sakura nodded.

Kabuto tsked. "I don't see the point. After this war, he will be mine anyway."

Sakura edged away from Kabuto a little more, but Kabuto inched closer to Sakura. "Sakura Chan, would you consider... working for me? If you work for me, you may have Sasuke when time I am done with him."

Sakura frowned. "Madara agreed to let you have Sasuke?"

"If I win this war, then yes."

"I doubt you will."

"Tsk, tsk. Little Sakura Chan, you have no idea what I am capable of..." His voice was cold. For a moment there Sakura considered it. but she turned away and said, "I would like to be alone now."

Kabuto hissed. "Consider my offer. If you don't accept, then by the time this war is over, you will be dead too."

She shivered slightly, and Kabuto smiled sadistically before slithering out of the room.

Sakura waited for a few minutes, and then brought the freshly pounded fireroots to Sasuke's room.

"Sasuke," she said, "it's me."

Sasuke ignored her.

"Funny story..." Sakura continued, ignoring his rudeness. "Kabuto came and talked to me today..."

That caught his attention, and he tilted his head in her direction.

"He said that once he wins this war, he will have Madara give you to him."

Sasuke was silent for a while. "I suspected as much."

Her mind was spinning, she was wondering if he was planning on something. In this battle of wits, who will win? The older Uchiha...or the younger? Even is Sasuke has a terrific plan, at the state that he is in right now, blind and unable to do anything, it's pathetic, really.

But Sakura did not show her feelings as she turned to him and began to unravel his bandages to replace the old herbs with new ones.

"How long?" Sasuke asked, there was no sign of impatience.

"Ten days," Sakura replied.

"Does Madara know?"

"No."

"Good. If he asks, tell him fifteen days."

"Of course."

Sakura carefully applied the herbs onto his eyelids and the surrounding area, then carefully wrapped his head with fresh bandages.

"Sakura," Sasuke suddenly began.

"Yeah?"

"Live in my quarters from now on."

"What?"

"Unless you want to die early."

Sakura didn't want to die early.

"Would Madara mind?"

"He doesn't care," Sasuke responded.

Sakura nodded.

She sincerely hoped that Sasuke was able to come up with a plan soon. He was surrounded by danger from all sides. Madara planned to use him as a host for his eyes. Kabuto planned on using him for god knows what, and all the villages, except Konoha, wanted him dead.

She hoped that Sasuke live through all this. Yet apart of her wants him to die in a hole, but he's Uchiha Sasuke. There may be no hole big enough for his ego.

In truth, all she wanted was for him to be happy, but it's becoming clear that he will never be happy ever again.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

I decided to take a break from updating my other stories. If there are no strong opposition I shall do so. If there is, I will stop playing RPG games and update stories.

And to some of the previous reviews...No, I will not abandon this story because it's already written... Yes. All 50 chapters. Last semester I had nothing to do much.

And whoa I just checked there are almost 150 reviews already. I am more surprised than happy lol. But thank you guys for reading this story. I have begin to do some revision on this to make it interesting..

* * *

><p>Chapter-20 rain<p>

Two years ago

Sakura explained to Sasuke in great detail about how the jutsu worked. She also told him the sealing techniques.

"Is the sealing technique a variation of...?"

"Yes. In fact, it was derived from the previous Hokage Sama's sealing technique to ruin Orochimaru's arms. Although there are different variations, Sarutobi Sama was trying to seal Orochimaru's soul. There are other sealing jutsu that  
>could be used, similar to an ultimate sacrifice jutsu," Sakura explained.<p>

Sasuke went silent for a while. "How are you familiar with these jutsu?"

"My sensei taught me many sealing jutsu. I understand most of them and I am able to perform them. But, there are very special circumstances that it must be done under. The nin that is performing the sealing cannot be weaker than the sealed, or else the jutsu will have no effect," she replied.

"You mean, in order for the allies to seal away Kabuto's corpse puppets, they must weaken them significantly first?"

"Exactly."

Sasuke suddenly chuckled, and Sakura cowered slightly. She didn't like the sadistic smile that was gracing his lips.

"I wonder who will win this war..." Sasuke speculated, leaning back lazily. "How many days now?"

"Five," Sakura responded automatically.

"Sakura, I also need you to do me a favor," Sasuke started.

"Yes?" Sakura queried; she was too tired to argue.

"I need-"

Before he could finish, the door opened.

Madara came in, along with the whimpering sound that Sakura was all too familiar with.

**Present day**

Sakura was quick to realise that Hinata was avoiding her. Sakura took on shifts at the hospital and often came home to see no sign of the dark-haired girl. Hinata was either away for missions, or locking herself up inside her room.

Sakura was curious to see what Hinata was hiding, but her attempts to find out proved futile. Hinata avoided her like the plague.

Sakura was beginning to wonder...

She planned to go and ask Neji.

But to approach Neji, she had to be very careful. So she went to Tenten first.

Tenten was at the weapons manufacturing compound. Sakura pulled her out from shipments of machinery and asked her secretly what was going on with Hinata.

Tenten had the same look on her face that Hinata always gave her.

"What! You're looking at me the same way... Are you hiding something from me too?" Sakura yelled, outraged.

"Whoa, whoa, Sakura, calm down! I mean, it's not exactly a secret that the elders were killed, and that Shizune thing couldn't have been an accident." Tenten sighed. "Sakura, I would like to keep my head as far away from the Uchiha's blade as possible..."

Sakura was stunned. She had never realized that Sasuke had gone so far to protect her. She had always assumed that thing with Shizune had been an accident of some sort. Since she wasn't curious enough to find out (Shizune's cold demeanour having played a large part in her lack of curiosity), she left it in the past.

Even a person as un-curious as Sakura was pondering what was going on.

She didn't know if Sasuke was trying to be protective or if he was trying to hide something from her.

So what was it? What did she have against him? She was of no threat, and she didn't have anything that was remotely useful to him. Why was he spending so much time on her...?

Thinking of that, she hid her expression carefully as the thoughts played in her mind.

Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry, Tenten, I understand. It's just very frustrating, that's all."

Tenten also sighed with her. "Dear Sakura, you know, some things are not meant to be remembered if they're so easily forgotten. If you did forget about it, maybe it's time to stop trying to dig up the past..."

Sakura looked Tenten straight in the eyes. "Do you really believe that? That it's better for me not to remember those memories again?"

Tenten nodded in certainty.

Sakura's mind wandered again. Judging from Tenten's expression, it must mean that some serious shit had gone down.

Sakura opened her mouth. "Then, Tenten, I want to -"

Before she could finish, a messenger ninja appeared before the two girls.

"Hello Tenten San, please pardon my intrusion. Sakura San, the Hokage requires your presence immediately." The messenger ninja disappeared after he had given the message.

"Tenten, I need to get going. I'm sorry -"

Tenten waved her hand. "It's ok!"

(^+^€)

Sakura stepped into Hokage's office and saw that Naruto, Hinata, and Sai were already there.

She suddenly had a very strange feeling.

Kakashi lifted his head up from his paper work. "Right, Sakura, you're here. I need you to go on a mission with these three."

Sakura looked at her friends. "Ok," she conceded. "What's the mission?"

Kakashi frowned. He pulled up a scroll and started to explain the mission. "The objective of this mission is to find Kabuto's lair and explore his intentions regarding the funding of the war between Kiri and Konoha. We've recently  
>received information that Kabuto has been experimenting with child nins who have special bloodlines limits. I need you guys to..."<p>

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. "Sensei! What do you want exactly?"

Kakashi sighed. "Get into Otokagure, find out what Kabuto is up to, and get out."

"Why didn't you say it like that?" Naruto demanded.

Sakura smacked his head. "Naruto! Shut up and listen!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "Sakura Chan! I'm sure glad you're back!"

Sakura, stunned, looked at the smiling ninja.

It had never occurred to her that her existence made Naruto so happy. She knew that Naruto's biggest wish was to unite all of his friends together. She never thought how much it would mean to him for her to show a few old habits.

Kakashi observed the scene carefully. He sighed, and put down the scroll, wondering if sending Sakura over there was a good idea.

But he was the Hokage. He could not endanger the village any further. He must take actions against the Sakura situation.

Sakura was definitely... Something. If she stayed in the village, Kakashi wasn't sure if that would be a good or a bad thing. Kakashi certainly didn't want to find out. Therefore, he decided to send Sakura over to Kiri. One reason was to avoid Sasuke coming in and out of the village as he pleased. Secondly, to observe Sasuke's reaction.

Kakashi hated the risks. He rubbed his head, and wondered if this would either be a really good opportunity, or a disaster.

He sincerely hoped that he had made the right move.

He hadn't.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

I decided to take a break from updating my other stories. If there are no strong opposition I shall do so. If there is, I will stop playing RPG games and update stories.

And to some of the previous reviews...No, I will not abandon this story because it's already written... Yes. All 50 chapters. Last semester I had nothing to do much.

* * *

><p>Chapter 21<p>

Sakura came out of Hokage's office and walked to Ichiraku Ramen with Naruto and Hinata. The blond was quick to order a huge bowl of seafood ramen. Sakura slowly ate some of her beef ramen, but she wasn't feeling well.  
>"What's wrong, Sakura Chan?" Hinata observed the difference in Sakura's face.<br>"I don't know," Sakura said. "I was so hungry before, but now I've completely lost my appetite. I wonder if -"  
>Sakura's face suddenly went very pale, and Hinata looked her over with worried eyes. "Sakura Chan?"<br>Sakura swallowed a few times, trying to regulate her breathing at a normal pace. "I... I need to go to the grocery store. Hinata Chan, will you come with me?"  
>Hinata nodded.<br>Sakura grabbed onto Hinata's hand as they walked off. Naruto was still gulping down the ramen, completely oblivious to the events.

Hinata waited outside the washroom, quite worried. She couldn't help it. So she spoke into the door: "Sakura Chan, are you done yet?"  
>Sakura stood stock-still in the washroom and felt as if her life had been twisted into a bad teen movie.<br>"Yes, Hinata Chan," she squeaked in response.  
>Hinata peeked in. "Well?"<br>"I... I'm pregnant," Sakura whispered. She didn't know whether to feel miserable or happy.  
>Hinata gasped.<br>Sakura sat on the bathroom floor, not knowing what to think.  
>Hinata couldn't think of anything to say. She was so nervous, and ended up stuttering. "Uh... Wh… whose is it...?"<br>Sakura gave her the Strawberry Look.  
>"Sakura Chan, I don't think you can take this mission..."<br>"No," Sakura said quickly. "I don't know what to feel about this yet, but if I know one thing it's that nobody must know about this baby. Absolutely no one." Sakura forced the last three words out vehemently. "Hinata, do you understand me? You cannot tell anyone!"  
>Hinata nodded fervently. "I understand."<br>Sakura let out a shaky breath. She hoped that she could deal with this calmly. First, she had to make adjustments. She may need to smuggle some medicine from the hospital...  
>Her mind quickly calculated the possibilities and planned for the future.<br>Somehow, Sakura knew that Sasuke must not know about the baby. He must not find out.  
>A small dark raven, the size Sakura's finger, silently flew in and landed on the rosette's hand.<br>Sakura touched it, and it flew in front of her and out of the window.  
>She shivered. Fear suddenly washed all through her body like an icy, foreboding wave. She sincerely hoped that Sasuke's timing was just purely coincidental and that he didn't know that she was...<br>"Hinata Chan, I'm going out for a minute," she said.  
>Hinata smiled at her; reassurance and understanding emanating from her eyes. "Alright, come back soon! We're leaving tomorrow morning."<br>Sakura had already jumped out of the window, following the miniature raven.  
>The raven grew larger as Sakura got further from human habitation. She arrived in a small clearing near the outskirts of the forest, and the raven disappeared.<br>She looked around, but saw no one.  
>A pair of hands wound about her waist from behind and pulled her into familiar, muscled arms.<br>"Sakura," Sasuke whispered in her ear, his breath slightly uneven.  
>"Sasuke Kun..." Sakura held on to those hands, but suddenly felt something moist.<br>She looked down, and saw blood.  
>She nearly fainted.<br>"Sasuke-kun, are you injured?" Sakura exclaimed in shock, and quickly turned around to check him.  
>He looked at her with a slightly bemused expression over the fact that she fussed all over him. She checked from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes very carefully, until she was sure the Sasuke was completely healthy and wound free.<br>"Where did all the blood come from, then?" she asked herself out loud.  
>"It's not mine," Sasuke said.<br>She stared at him. "Oh."  
>He smiled kindly at her. "Were you worried about me?"<br>"Of course," she replied, but slowly backed away from him.  
>Sasuke noticed, and he frowned slightly. "You're becoming more and more attached to that foolish village."<br>Sakura raised a brow. "Excuse me, but I was born in that village. I also grew up in that village. Why shouldn't I be attached? It's my home."  
>Sasuke's frown grew deeper. He liked it better when she called Kawa home.<br>"How are you these days?" Sasuke asked, observing her. He took note that she had gotten slightly more rounded than before. That was good; at least she wasn't a skeleton anymore.  
>Sakura's heart thumped heavily against her breast until she heard herself saying, "I'm fine. I'm good. I'm better than good, I'm absolutely perfect." If she was trying to hide her nervousness, she really should have done a better job… She was a ninja, after all.<br>The man in front of her raised an eyebrow.  
>She gasped slightly. Every movement he made was able to take her breath away. She was constantly reminded of how pretty he was, and how absolutely gorgeous he appeared to be in front of her.<br>"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous," she said.  
>"Nervous?"<br>"Yeah, we have a mission tomorrow," Sakura replied honestly.  
>"What is the mission?" Sasuke asked, uninterested. He had a feeling that she would drone on and on about her friends and hospital work stuff. He was far more interested in having her in his arms, holding that soft, warm body of hers close to him and occasionally pinching her cheeks.<br>"We are going to Otogakure to find out what Kabuto is up to!" Sakura stated enthusiastically.  
>Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. "What?"<br>"We are going to Otogakure to find out what Kabuto is up to," she reiterated, carefully enunciating each of her words.  
>Sasuke frowned. "Did Kakashi put you up to this?"<br>She nodded.  
>"I need to have a talk with that man," Sasuke said lightly. "Perhaps I will kill him to stir things up a bit."<br>Sakura pouted. "No! Don't you think you've stirred things up already? Kakashi is my sensei. He's yours too. Why don't you respect him...?"  
>"He has done nothing that is worthy of my respect," Sasuke sneered.<br>Sakura quickly kissed him and tried to convince him otherwise. "Sasuke, this will be a good opportunity for me to grow up, right? You said that I need some hands on combat experience -"  
>"Not with Kabuto," Sasuke interrupted, frowning.<br>"Why?"  
>"He is sick and twisted."<br>"Look who's talking."  
>Sasuke pinched Sakura's cheeks and glared at her. "What did you say?"<br>Sakura quickly amended herself. "I said that you are the strongest shinobi ever to have existed!"  
>"Of course," Sasuke said. "Alright, you can go on this mission."<br>"Yay!" Sakura smiled like a small child.  
>"But what if I was busy and couldn't save you from whatever trouble you may get yourself into?" Sasuke voiced his concerns aloud.<br>Sakura snuggled into his chest. "I'm not a trouble maker, believe me. I'll stay out of trouble... Mmhmm... Sasuke Kun..."  
>But they were empty words.<br>Sasuke hugged Sakura and let her do whatever she wanted in the space of his arms.  
>Her presence was becoming very fun and irritating at the same time... He was beginning to find that he couldn't be without her, and such thoughts always came with consequences.<br>What if one day she was gone?  
>Sasuke pushed the thought aside and forced his agitated mood to calm down.<br>What if one day she remembered her lost memories?  
>The thought hasn't occurred to him until now, when he had observed the change in Sakura.<br>She was hiding something too. His dear, innocent little Sakura was hiding something from him.  
>He narrowed his eyes. So she was not a complete doll after all.<br>Sasuke raised his hand and caressed Sakura's hair.  
>"Sakura, if you would like to come back to Kawa, I will welcome you anytime," Sasuke said calmly.<br>"Mmhmm... Not at the moment," Sakura said. "I need to fulfil this mission first."  
>Sasuke sighed. He didn't bother to try and change her mind.<br>Sakura hugged and hugged Sasuke with all the strength she possessed. She wanted him all the time. She treasured the time that they spent together. She loved the fact that he would always be there to protect her. She wanted Sasuke to know just how much she loved him. She sometimes wanted to give her whole world to him, but sometimes she shrank away from him. And she was not ignorant as to the reason why she shied away from him. It was because she was scared of him.  
>Sasuke wasn't a forgiving guy, and if he found out that he had been lied to… But Sakura could not and would not lose something so precious to her before she had even had the chance to see it.<br>She had already planned it out. She would complete the mission at hand and then she would stay in Konoha until her baby was born.  
>She was determined to have her precious child born in a village full of sunshine, with many aunts and uncles who loved him or her to death.<br>She hoped it would be a boy.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

It has been a while since I wrote anything, and it has been a while since I re read this story. I wrote this a longgg time ago. And needless to say I seriously am appalled at my writing skills. I think this story is choppy and quite boring to read... if it's not my own story I think I would have fed it to the dogs.

Well anyways I try to improve, but I did very little if none at all improvisation on this story. I think I will just stick with the original draft, and create a new story that might be a bit more... pleasing...

My lovely readers and reviewers, sorry for dragging this out for so long. I will finish update this. That is a promise I can make. Since I finished writing it anyways.

Muah Muah~ Love you all.

BTW I recently started playing ragnarok=.=... ... ... ... ... ... ...

So yeah...

* * *

><p>Chapter 22<p>

They left Konoha in the early hours of the morning.

As Sakura touched the gates of Konoha, she idly wondered how it was possible for her to put her faith so blindly in the village.

The mission was suppose to take anywhere between two and four weeks. She would be back in no time, and she would deliver her precious baby in the protective haven of Konoha.

At least, that was what she thought.

It would be another six months before she saw the gate again.

Sakura jumped into the trees to join Naruto, Hinata and Sai. Thus began their mission.

(= . =)

It would take three days of constant travelling to reach Sound, before they would use another one or two days to plan and strategize their infiltration. Preceding that, they would then infiltrate the base, garner as much information as possible, pull back, and return to the village in the space of a week.

At least, that was the plan.

It began when they settled down in a village just near the outskirts of Sound. They were very cautious about hiding their identity from the villagers, lest someone inform Kabuto of their presence.

Naruto wanted to go and try the local ramen. Hinata was out buying their basic necessities, and Sai was busy devising strategies, so Naruto begged Sakura to go with him.

"Pleeeeeease, Sakura Chan! I want to know if the ramen tastes different here..."

Sakura was wondering how it could be any different to the ramen back home. If the ramen tasted good there, then it was obviously going to taste the same everywhere else. There was only so many ways to make ramen, after all.

But she was hungry too, so agreed readily. "Fine, let's go."

And off they went.

The village that they had chosen was fairly peaceful. It wasn't too large, or too small. The streets were crowded when they set out, as it was lunchtime and almost everyone was out buying food.  
>There were civilians everywhere, and amongst them, the occasional shinobi walked. Both Naruto and Sakura had already hidden their headbands inside their clothing, but Sakura had completely forgotten that sewn into the corner of her shirt was an Uchiwa symbol.<p>

They sat down at a small booth inside a restaurant. There were other local ninja already there, sitting in the booth next to theirs. They were discussing in boisterous tones the Uchiha Manual."I heard that Uchiha Sasuke carries it around in his cloak. I wish I could get close enough to grab it," said one.

"Forget it. He would probably slice your head off before you could even get a glimpse of him," another responded.

"I wonder if he'll use the gift of immortality," the first man thought aloud.  
>The second man sighed. "I was wondering if I should go with and join him in Kawa. I've heard that he's been doing a mass recruitment of rogue ninjas."<p>

"He only recruits skilled ninjas."

"Oh shut up..."

Naruto's grinning face fell when they talked so brazenly about his old team-mate. He sat and listened, but otherwise made no comment.

Sakura was silent too. She wasn't uncomfortable with the subject, but she sometimes wished that Sasuke wasn't such a large threat to all the villages.

The food arrived; Naruto ate his ramen as fast as he could while Sakura ate her donburi. She finished about half of it before an odd feeling of nausea wracked her body. The roseate frowned. The mission was not going to work if she had developed morning sickness.

But it was only for a week, so she should be able to bear it.  
>But at that moment, Sakura couldn't take it, so she stood up and walked to the washroom. Locking the door behind her, she proceeded to vomit into the wash-basin. Before she could lift her head up from the sink, she saw a figure behind her in the mirror.<br>The figure raised a hand and slapped a certain point on Sakura's neck.

She was unconscious before she hit the floor.

(_%)

The first thing Sakura saw when she woke up was the color of fine linen. Blinking herself to awareness, she slowly looked around. Hanging above her head were some intricately detailed paper lanterns and the walls were decorated with faint patterns.

She sniffed, and realized that there was the smell expensive incense permeating the air.

'This is a very expensive room,' Sakura thought to herself. She wondered what on earth she was doing here.

The door opened, and a girl came in. "Uchiha Sama, please excuse my rudeness. I didn't realize that you were awake. Would you like to bathe?"

Sakura observed the girl carefully. She looked younger than Sakura by about three or four years. Her brown hair was tied into a loose pony tail, and her clothing was made of ordinary fabric, unlike the curtains and bed averts in the room.

"I wouldn't mind some water," Sakura said, sitting up.

"Certainly." The girl poured some water into a finely crafted teacup and handed it to the roseate with her head bowed low.

Sakura drank it all, and after asking for a second cup, she decided to question the girl. "Where am I?"

The girl lowered her lashes. "Seventh Heaven District, ma'am."

Sakura almost choked on her water.

She examined the room again, and realized it was a...a... a cathouse.

Sakura looked back to the girl, and upon closer inspection realised that she was quite pretty.

"What am I doing here?" Sakura asked her, fine tremors wracking her form.

"You are Uchiha Sasuke's wife, therefore you are our hostage," the girl replied honestly.

"How did you know I was Sasuke's -?"

"There's an Uchiha symbol on your shirt," the girl stated. "And besides, rumor has it that Uchiha San's wife has a very unusual hair color."

Sakura sighed heavily. Firstly, she cursed herself for wearing the shirts that she had bought back from Kawa, then she cursed herself for having pink hair.

But it was true though. She had never met anybody else who had pink hair in her life.

It saddened her to realize that her trademark would always be pink hair.

Naruto's trademark was his love for ramen, his dreams of becoming Hokage, his goal of bringing the teme back, and the kyuubi.

Sasuke's trademark was being the sole Uchiha left, possessing the legendary Sharingan, and pretty much killing anyone whom he considered was important.

And the last genin from Team 7 was known for having have pink hair, and for being Sasuke's wife, which made her feel even more miserable.

"Why am I here?" Sakura asked tiredly.

"You are a hosta -"

"Enough!" Sakura shouted. "I asked you why I'm here! What are your intentions?"

The girl was unfazed by her sudden burst of anger. She lowered her head, but didn't say anything.

But she didn't need to, as at that moment, the door opened.

A man with a ridiculously large hood came in. His features were scaled and broken, leaving shadows to writhe in the cracks on his face. Sakura felt chills creep down her neck. His very demeanor reminded her of a serpent.

"Uchiha Sakura..." he hissed, his pale skin stretching taut over his face as he spoke. It was easy to see the malicious smile in his expression, almost as if he was being sarcastic. "When did you and Sasuke Kun get married? Huh... I wonder..."

Sakura shrank into the covers a little. She really, really, really didn't like this man.

"You'd better let me go," Sakura warned, trying not to make her voice quiver. "I'm... If my... If Sasuke found out..."

Kabuto's smile widened. "Ooooh, I'm terrified!" he mocked, and her eyes grew wide.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

I know this story is a little... bland. As to why any readers wants to continue on reading it is beyond my understanding.

Good news, a new story is coming out SOON! And please please please please oh gawd PLEASE let me be happy with it. Let it be interesting to the readers, let me rest in peace because I finally will post something decent.

And yes, the chapters will be longer in the news story.

Thankyou so much to you all

By the way the plot of this story is getting weirder and weirder...

* * *

><p>Chapter 23<p>

Two years ago

"Hinata!" Sakura gasped aloud as the whimpering girl was brought roughly into Sasuke's room.  
>Madara raised a brow in triumph. "So her name is Hinata. This Hyuuga had previously refused to give me her name. Haha, am I that scary?" he mocked, sparing the frightened Hinata a devious look.<br>Sakura glanced at Sasuke, but as usual, his face held no expression. It was as if the whole scene was invisible to him.  
>"Sakura Chan?"Hinata opened her bruised lids and took a look at the pink haired girl. "I... I'm sorry."<br>Madara tossed Hinata to the floor like a rag doll. "You three can reminisce about the old days," he said, and walked out of the room, the image of arrogance. The door locked behind him with a sickening twist of the deadbolt.  
>Sakura lunged at the injured girl the minute Madara's footsteps faded in the hallways, and carefully examine her injuries. Concentrating her chakra into her hands, she brought it to hover over the worst of Hinata's wounds, in order to stop the steady flow of blood.<br>The pink haired medic spent a full two hours by Hinata's side so as to completely patch her up and bandage her wounds. She laid the injured Kunoichi on her bed, which was across from Sasuke's.  
>After she'd finished treating the girl, she asked her, "Hinata Chan, why did Madara capture you?"<br>Hinata shook her head. "I don't know. One minute I was in battle, and the next I was being dragged away. They asked for my name but I refused to speak, though I think they figured out that I'm from the main family anyway."  
>Sakura's head was spinning with shock upon seeing her friend. She glanced at Sasuke, who had already lain down to take a nap. Sasuke had started to fall asleep, and Sakura knew better than to wake him up. Failure to keep quiet would result in a severe punishment.<br>Slowly, she lulled Hinata to sleep. After being reassured that Sakura wouldn't leave her side, she fell into a light slumber.  
>But Sakura couldn't fall asleep so easily. She couldn't stop thinking about the situation that she had been caught in. What exactly did Madara want with Hinata? Hinata was the Hyuuga's heir - there was no way that she would be of any use to him, unless as a means of bribery.<br>Sakura's thoughts were interrupted as the door creaked open, and Kabuto slithered inside.  
>Sakura looked away in disgust, but was jerked away from Hinata and pushed out of Sasuke's room before she could even register what was going on.<br>Kabuto carefully locked the door behind him and smiled at the roseate. "Sakura Chan, let's go back to your old room, shall we?"  
>"What do you mean? Sasuke said -"<br>Kabuto's smile grew wider. "It doesn't matter what Sasuke said. You are going to stay in your old room."  
>He dragged her through deserted corridors and round corners, past door after door until they arrived at her old room, which was as cold and dirty as the serpent beside her.<br>"What are you smiling at?" Sakura demanded, irritated.  
>"I'm smiling," Kabuto said, "because you don't know what's going on with that Hyuuga girl..."<br>"Excuse me?" Sakura questioned, a feeling of dread settling in the pits of her stomach. She had the sudden desire to puke.  
>"Madara San..." Kabuto chuckled, "wants to see what kinds of eyes would be born from the union of a Hyuuga and an Uchiha... Hahahahahahaha!"<br>Kabuto pushed the frozen Sakura into her old room and locked the door after him with a loud 'crank!'  
>His laughter could be heard echoing through the dank and damask hallways.<p>

Present day

There was something in the incense...  
>Sakura noticed it quickly upon recovering.<br>She had been shut in the luxurious room for almost three days and she first noticed something different when she had a strange dream.  
>It was a beautiful dream – a memory – from when she was a child. She was in the Konoha Academy, talking and playing with her friends. During the dream, she remembered that she was quite shy and timid as a little girl. And even in her dreams she couldn't escape the haunting reoccurring image of Uchiha Sasuke.<br>She was timidly peeking at Sasuke behind the corners of the desks when Kiba accidentally pushed her down the lecture steps.  
>Her soft and agile little body didn't get injured much, but Sakura was quick to spot a painful scratch on her collarbone, no doubt attained from the corner of one of the desks. That small injury alone was enough to make her cry like crazy.<br>Iruka Sensei had panicked and quickly rushed Sakura to the medical wing, where Shizune San healed Sakura's collar bone in the space of a few minutes. Sadly, she told the little girl that it would leave a faint scar.  
>Shizune had smiled so warmly, so happily. Sakura couldn't recall having ever seen her like that... But a dream is simply that: a dream.<br>That is, until Sakura looked in the mirror as she tied her hair to one side, only to find the faint scar lining her collarbone.  
>It was so faint, so unnoticeable, that at first Sakura didn't recognize it. It was only when she looked closely at the light line did she realize it was the scar from her dreams.<br>Sakura stood in front of the mirror and let the information sink in.  
>It was true then. Her memories were slowly coming back.<br>The revelation proved itself once again when she was admiring the teacups, and a memory flashed back to her. It startled her so much that she dropped the cup.  
>The girl who waited on Sakura rushed in at the sudden noise and asked Sakura what had happened.<br>Sakura simply stared at the teacup and reflected on the memory.  
>Finally, she had the sense to point to the wisps of smoke rising from the scented sticks. "What's this?"<br>The girl's face became pale, and she ran away before Sakura could question her further.  
>The roseate continued to think about the childhood memories that she had finally started to gain.<p> 


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

As I said the plot is getting weirder.

I have made a promise that my new story would be published soon, but I lack initiative, so if any of you would like to see a new story rolling from me (made by my blood and heart and soul) by the end of today, please review review review so that I know my efforts are not wasted...

By the way I sincerely sincerely want to thank the editing department of this story. Without them this story would be pretty much empty.

I love you all.

* * *

><p>Chapter 24-rain<p>

Sakura was led into a very strange room. It was split into two by a partially transparent screen, and Sakura was placed on one side of it. She was tied to a pole, and her mouth was sealed so she couldn't speak.

The other side of the room was visible to her, though the screen made her invisible to those on the other side. The wall was decorated with a myriad of ornaments and various vases with miniature plants flowing from the rims.

A man was already waiting on the other side of the screen. He looked to be a few years older than Kakashi, and his hair was all white.

Sakura looked closer at him, and upon studying his aged features, saw that he must have been considered extremely attractive when he was young. But his eyes were haunted with ghosts of a life that had been subjected to too much. Surprisingly, there was a hint of kindness in his features, despite his cool demeanour.

Sakura wondered vaguely why she was tied up to the pole. She sincerely hoped that the worst thing that could happen was that the screen would lift up and she'd have to do a pole dancing session.

Sakura had a wild imagination.

But she could never have predicted what would happen next.

Sasuke came in. Yes, the Sasuke that haunted her dreams and mind constantly.

Sasuke walked towards the man and sat down across from him. "Toshi San," he greeted, his voice tinged with politeness.

The white haired man nodded and returned his greeting. "Uchiha San."

Sakura wanted to thrash about and yell out to Sasuke, to tell him that she was just behind the screen, but no sound came out; she could barely even move.

Sakura's head span as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. She felt used – although who was using her, she had yet to figure out.

Toshi clapped his hands, and a few girls came in, immediately swarming around the Uchiha heir.

"Toshi San, I am married," Sasuke protested, his voice emotionless.

"My mistake." Toshi quickly dismissed all of the girls except for one, who remained to serve wine and food to them.

Sakura recognized the girl immediately. She was the girl who had waited on Sakura.

Sasuke started to speak up, and Sakura quietened her thrashing so as to listen. "Toshi San, I think it would benefit both of us if we work together."

Toshi raised an eyebrow. "You are a boy, not even twenty years. What makes you think that you are capable of working with me?"

Sasuke smirked a little and his eyes bled red. "Because, should you defy me, I could kill you without so much as blinking."

Toshi sat, unfazed.

Sasuke stared back at the old man for a moment. "You're right," Toshi finally said.

"You will live. If I wanted you dead you wouldn't be alive now. Then again, I don't kill those who are loyal."

Sakura shivered a little. Her senses were screaming at her to leave this place as soon as possible. She was shocked that Toshi was able to stare Sasuke directly in the eye and come out unscathed.

Sasuke smiled suddenly, and closed his eyes. "You're right. I shouldn't kill you. You are far too influential for me to dispose of."

Toshi laughed at Sasuke's macabre comment. "Don't look too lightly upon me, boy! I may have leverage against you."

Sasuke sneered. "I doubt it."

Sakura's eyes began to water from pent up emotion.

The meeting commenced as both men leaned in closer. They discussed the coast, the navy, shipments, payments, ninjas… Sakura's hope died bit by bit as the meeting continued and Sasuke showed no sign of noticing her.

She had finally realised that the screen in front of her was a chakra screen; no matter how much she moved or how much noise she made, Sasuke would never notice her.

The candles began to flicker as the meeting drew to a close. Sasuke eyed the girl who was serving tea.

"May I?" Sasuke motioned towards the girl, speaking at Toshi.

The girl flushed crimson, right to the roots of her hair. Sakura could see her younger self in the girl: young, naïve, and infatuated from the moment his ebony eyes landed upon her.

Toshi drank his tea and made no comment as Sasuke's eyes began to spin.  
>The girl returned his gaze –<p>

- and fell down dead before she had the chance to whimper.

Sakura stared in horror as the girl's expression turned from surprise, to slight awe, before being engulfed by a flash of horror as she collapsed, her eyes still open. Sasuke had killed her merely by looking at her. He took away the warmth she had held merely seconds before, and she was dead before she hit the floor.

The poor young girl looked as if she was made of water. She was so agile; her eyes were so big and full of dreams. She could've married and grown old with her love beside her. Lived simply and happily as she watched her children, then her grandchildren grow before her eyes.

Sakura wanted to scream. She hadn't even known what the girl's name was.

Was this truly who Sasuke was? But what else had she expected? Sakura had known from the beginning that Sasuke's idea of right and wrong extended far beyond the norm. But he has once been a part of Konoha too, had he not?

Sasuke walked out of the room, leaving Toshi to stay sitting. After a few minutes, a guard came in and whispered in the man's ear. Toshi clapped his hands.

The chakra screen lifted up, and Sakura's gaze was met by his.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

First I will apologize for my late update.

Ok first I really have to say while I was writing this section of the story I was obviously on something, or else it would have made much more sense to some people. Here I will explain.

First in my pathetic attempt to explain the love between someone who is deeply psychologically affected and a memory loss confused girl I was side tracked by the status of both characters. I found it impossible for Sasuke to even have a relationship with someone, considering the enemies, the hatred, and not to mention the complete dichotomy between the two. However, the fact of the story is, they fell in love. It's very complex and simple at the same time-there is no way that Sasuke is able to keep her by his side. She will undoubtedly encounter some sort of danger. In his attempt to send her away, it was a bit too late, considering the fact that she is currently in danger in these few chapters.

Now to the characters, I want to create a "mirror" couple. I desperately want to find a couple in which the male is a psychological maniac and is on the list of top dangerous shinobis, yet he is desperately in love with a simple girl while being hunted by various nations in the world. In truth in the Naruto manga there was no such character, and it would be very weird if I force two characters together, so instead I created OCs. I know many loyal readers hate OCs, and I must say I do too, but I quenched my hatred and try to give as little role to the two OCs as possible while they still perform the effect that they are supposed to, so the creation of Toshi and Ruka were born.

As I know that I wrote this nearly 7 month ago and the plot must seem really weird now, therefore I will give my little blurb on the characters. Toshi is very famous...criminal. Throughout his life he has lied and cheated his way to the position he held now, which is a village official on the surface while a black market dealer. He fell in love with Ruka, but she was his younger brother's fiancée at the time. After years of excruciating torture, he killed his younger brother and married Ruka. Ruka is simple to the point of naiive. She was grateful that Toshi took her in while her fiancée has died, so she married him naturally, but she is in deep psychological trauma and has been unhealthy since.

The similarities between the two were that both men loved their partner so much that it almost destroyed the girls. The difference was that Toshi kept Ruka on a tight leash every single day while Sasuke sent Sakura away. Also that Toshi wanted to protect Ruka so much that he is willing to be used by Kabuto. The relationship between Toshi and Ruka foreshadows the relationship between Sasuke and Sakura, because in truth, they have no future together. I also want to create a "Test" scenario. If Ruka was captured and Toshi was demanded to cut off his arms or something, he would do it. Would Sasuke do the same? Anyways keep on reading to find out.

If there are strong oppositions to OCs, please pm me or spam reviews vigorously and I will seriously spend some time to delete these chapters and rewrite them.

Lastly, an announcement on my latest addiction: Korean dramas. Especially "The moon that embraces the sun", also "Dream high" and "Skip Beat", been watching them literally all day.

I love you guys-the faithful readers. Thank you so much.

ps: The above has not been beta-ed by anyone, I wrote this at 8 in the morning and about to go to sleep after a night of watching dramas. Many will see the writing differences between the above and below, and will be glad that I have betas.

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><p>Chapter 25-rain<p>

Sakura was still restricted to the confines of her room.

The food and drink was brought by another girl this time, to replace the previous girl. This girl refused to speak to Sakura, and the roseate wondered if she was unfortunate in life as well or if she just happened to be in a really unfortunate relationship.

She didn't understand why Sasuke felt the need to kill, to murder, after he'd seen his family die before his eyes, over and over again. Was it true that they would all continue the circle of violence? She wondered if what Sasuke had said before was true. Did she use to enjoy torturing others?

The sound of rushed footsteps drew closer and closer to her door.

"Toshi San, you mustn't go in -"

"I can go in if I damn well want to!" someone retorted. "Leave me alo -"

Sakura's door burst open, and an extremely beautiful middle aged woman strode in. She was well dressed, with small gems threaded through her bodice and colorful sweeping skirts. But something seemed off about her. She looked sick. She was very pale, and the excessive amounts of makeup did little to hide that fact.

"Who are you?" the women asked after Sakura had stared at her for a few moments.

"I'm... Sakura," Sakura said. She couldn't feel any malicious intent coming from the women.

"Are you my husband's concubine?" the woman asked her bluntly, her voice dead serious.

The serving girl was about to speak, but the women silenced her with a glance.

Now Sakura understood. This woman was Lady Toshi, the white haired man's wife.

"No," Sakura stated. She felt exhausted, and it was all she could do to keep her eyes open. "I'm already married."

Lady Toshi sighed in relief. "What are your intentions? Why are you here?"

Sakura raised a brow. "I -"

"Sakura San is Lord Toshi's guest!" the serving girl quickly cut in, stopping Sakura's speech.

Sakura didn't argue, and at that point, Kabuto walked in. Sakura wasn't disappointed to see he that didn't have a snake tail dragging behind his large cape.

"Lady Toshi," Kabuto greeted in a soft, malicious voice. "Why are you here?"

The women shrank away from Kabuto. "I -"

Sakura's stomach turned at that moment, and she vomited all over the floor. She couldn't help it. A wave of nausea came crashing down upon her and she was left retching up anything she had consumed recently. It took a few minutes for her stomach to settle itself, and she was left dry-heaving over the side of her bed.

Kabuto smiled, ecstatic. "Sakura Chan," he said. "You're pregnant. Why didn't you tell me?"

Sakura spat at him, and Lady Toshi decided to step in. "That's enough, Kabuto San. Please leave. I wish to speak to this Sakura alone."

Kabuto walked out with a huge smile plastered on his face.

Sakura sat on bed and wiped away the vomit remains from the side of her mouth with her sleeve. Serving girls came in and took care of the mess while Lady Toshi sat beside her, careful to avoid the vomit pool. "My husband forced you here against your will, didn't he?" she asked, her voice grave.

Sakura nodded, and the older woman frowned. "He promised me that he was a changed man. I don't know why he would do such thing."

Sakura want to laugh at the poor women's innocence. "Do you have any idea what your husband does for a living?"

Lady Toshi thought for a moment. "Not exactly, but he use to do bad things. He told me he had stopped that sort of business."

"Really?" Sakura questioned sarcastically.

The women looked at Sakura with sincerity in her eyes. "It's true! He told me he wouldn't do anything that harmed anyone again!"

"Then let me go," Sakura pleaded. "Let me go back to my team."

"I -"

Before she could finish, Lord Toshi himself walked in. He was furious when he came in, but upon seeing his wife next to Sakura, his eyes immediately softened, and he lowered his tone. "Ruka, why are you here?"

"Let Sakura Chan go. She is pregnant and needs to get back to her husband," Lady Toshi ordered her husband sternly, well, as sternly as she could.

Lord Toshi's eyes shot venom at Sakura, and Sakura shot an equally venomous look back.

"Toshi-kun, please," Lady Toshi begged. "Remember when I was pregnant? I don't want to the same thing to happen to this young lady..."

Lord Toshi stared at Sakura for a while, before his shoulders slumped slightly in defeat. "You are free to leave. But if you can't make it out alive, it isn't my problem."

Sakura jumped off her bed and ran out the doors as fast as her legs could carry her.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Thank you to Cethron and SapphireRivulet, my betas.

I thought this over and I should update 2 chapters to make up for the hiatus. Luckily my beta provided me with them.

A warning. This chapter contains rape.

* * *

><p>Chapter 26-rain<p>

Sakura ran as fast as she could, using all of her chakra to jump from tree branch to tree branch. She was in a thick, dense forest, and she didn't know which way she was going. All she knew was that she was going south, where Konoha was.

The stars told her so.

Sakura didn't even think about leaving until she had actually left. She ran on an empty stomach - she could feel her chakra pools drying up, but she kept going despite her exhaustion. She had to keep going.

She began to feel so tired that she set goals to keep herself going. Just get to the next branch. To the next one. The next one. The next one. Until she couldn't jump anymore and collapsed on a pile of leaves.

There was also another reason that she doesn't want to rest-there was something in her previous environment that made her having more dreams about her past, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to remember them.

Suddenly a shadow moved behind the trunk of a tree, and two figures stepped out. She wanted to scream but her throat was too dry, and struggled to move away, until one of the figures stepped up to her. "Do you have any food?"

She realized that the figures were children.

"No, I don't. I've been separated from my team. I'll send a message for them to pick me up, then there'll be food."

"How long will that take?" one of the little girls demanded in annoyance. Sakura was too tired to argue. She opened up a scroll that Sai had given to her, and an ink bird flew up to the sky. She briefly wondered why she hadn't used it earlier, and attributed it to the stress of her situation making her forgetful.

She was asleep only seconds later.

**Two years ago**

Sakura curled on the side of her bed alone, worry gnawing away at her. She jumped at the sound of the door opening.

Hinata was shoved into her room and the door was once again locked.

Sakura quickly ran to Hinata and held her hands. "Hinata Chan, did you...? Did you sleep...?"

Hinata had tears in her eyes. "They tried to force me, but I didn't. I swear, Sakura Chan, I didn't do it!"

Sakura smiled bitterly. "Hinata Chan, don't think I was worried about Sasuke. I don't care about him now. All I care about is you. You can't be tainted by that monster. I won't allow you to be."

Hinata looked at Sakura in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

Sakura collapsed on her bed lifelessly. "He asked me for a favor yesterday."

"What favor?" Hinata whispered.

"He asked me if I loved him. Then he asked me if, when the time is right, I would sacrifice myself for him," Sakura confided, her voice emotionless.

Hinata gasped. "Sakura Chan! You didn't agree to that did you?"

Sakura didn't speak for a while. Hinata thought she had fallen asleep. But she heard a quiet sigh, and a soft murmur. "What else is there to do? What else... is there...?"

There were footsteps outside, suddenly both Sakura and Hinata stared at each other in fright.

"They are coming for me, they are coming for me!" Hinata shook violently, her voice cracking.

"Don't worry." Sakura managed to keep a leveled head in this situation. She whispered something in Hinata's ear which made the purple haired girl bit her lips in doubt.

Hinata shivered in fear as Kabuto stepped into the room. "Hinata, Sasuke requires your presence... Hahaha," he chortled in sick amusement.

Hinata couldn't move. She could only tremble.

Sakura squeezed Hinata's hand in comfort. "Be brave," she whispered.

Sakura stepped off her bed and into the torch light that lit up the hallway. Kabuto didn't notice any difference, as Sakura was cloaked in a glamour depicting her as the Hyuuga heiress.

Hinata was so sure that the plan wouldn't work, that they would come back for her, that they would see through Sakura's jutsu and that they would come back for the real Hinata. She clenched her fist, only to find something in her palm. She opened it and found that Sakura had given her a key.

Hinata looked at the cold hard door in front of her, and tentatively poked the key into the handle and turned.

It clicked.

Kabuto, who was leading the girl behind him up to Sasuke's chambers, noticed something unusual. This 'Hinata' behaved differently. Her head was held high with feigned confidence. No fine tremors wracked her body.

Kabuto smacked the girl's face in a sudden motion, and the jutsu fell away, leaving a pink haired woman standing before the snake man.

"What did you do?" Kabuto demanded, though he didn't seem angry. He was smiling.

Sakura refused to look at him.

"You little whore. You want to be fucked around by Sasuke Kun, don't you?"

Kabuto was smiling wider now.

Sakura couldn't help it. Tears fled down her cheeks as her terror escaped.

Kabuto pushed Sakura up against a wall. His words acted as tools to keep Sakura still. She was too weak and too tired to fight back, and was convinced of her own fate. It had been determined many years ago, when she had first laid her eyes upon the little raven-haired boy.

The sound of laughter echoed down the empty corridors as Kabuto ripped her clothing off her body and spread her legs wide. Sakura didn't make a single sound as Kabuto ripped her soul into millions of pieces.

And that was how it started.


	27. Chapter 27

Thank you to dearest Sophee for betaing this.

Also I truly am thinking about abandoning this project. As my other story is going to update soon and it will be pretty time consuming and... awesome...Because when I wrote this, my writing really sucked =.=...

Also please please please help me find betas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 27<p>

Present day

Sakura woke up, her pillow soaked through with salty tears. She didn't stir, but opened up the lids of her eyes slowly and took a long look at her surroundings.

Hinata's face suddenly invaded her line of sight. "Sakura Chan! We found you in -"

"I was raped by Kabuto," Sakura interjected and grabbed on to Hinata's hand, startling the raven haired girl.

Hinata's body started to shake so hard, she dropped the clean towel she was holding. Sakura's eyes stared at the girl with a ferocious intensity; no blame in her eyes, just frightened acknowledgement of her past. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Hinata's began to mumble, distress permeating her voice.

Sakura closed her eyes and lay back on her pillow slowly. The flash of memory felt like a nightmare from another girl's life. She couldn't place herself in such a horrifying situation, yet she knew that that past was hers. She knew that terrifying events must have taken place during her two years in captivity, yet she had always believed so strongly that she would prevail against it. She was from Konoha, where sunshine and happiness dominated.

Hinata was a sobbing wreck beside her, and Sakura was almost amused that Hinata was the one crying and not her.

She wondered if anyone else knew about it. She wondered if Naruto or Sasuke had hidden such a tragic fact from her.

It slowly dawned on her that Sasuke must have known about it, as she wasn't a virgin the first time he'd slept with her.

Was it true that they were married?

She shook it off, determined to toss away the thoughts that permeated to her mind. She would forget about it; she had to forget about it – there was no other option. To dwell on it would make her go mad. It was just a matter of convenience. She would lock the memories away in a box deep within the hidden recesses in her mind, and pretend that it had never happened.

She took a moment to digest her decision, and when she opened her eyes she asked, "The children…?"

"We have them," Hinata quickly reassured the roseate. "They're being taken care of by Naruto and Sai. One boy and one girl. They're orphans from Kabuto's experiments and somehow escaped." Hinata quickly walked over to a nearby table and brought over a steaming bowl of soup, which she placed on a tray and gave to Sakura.

Sakura sighed and began to eat the soup.

"Sakura San, do you hate me?" Hinata whispered unexpectedly, averting her pearly eyes.

Sakura looked at her in surprise. "Why would you think that?"

Hinata played with the ends of her hair in a nervous, shaky fashion. "It's just…" she began, thinking back to that night. "When Kabuto came into the room, I shrunk behind you when he called out my name. You protected me and went in my place…"

Sakura looked at the poor dark haired girl. Her eyes didn't have irises or pupils, but despite that, so much emotion shone out of them. Sakura was afraid to look at them.

Sakura thought for a while, before she finally said, "I think, perhaps it was out of the selfishness of my heart that I went in your place, hoping that Sasuke would be the one."

Hinata began to cry. "It wasn't Sasuke, Sakura. You resented Sasuke back then, I know it! I know, because while I was escaping, I heard Kabuto's voice, and I kept running without even thinking about turning back to help… I just left… Sakura Chan, I've felt so guilty, so horrid this past year, because it's my fault that he… that you…"

Sakura leaned her head against her bedpost. "Hinata, I don't think it matters any more. I'd rather have that happen to me than to you. I'm strong enough to handle something like this. You're strong Hinata, in both mind and body, but I think that if this had happened to you, it would have torn you apart."

Hinata bowed her head down in shame. "Sakura Chan, are you going to tell Sasuke Kun?"

"He already knows," Sakura replied bitterly. She threw the bowl back down on its tray and wrapped herself up in the covers, welcoming the small respite that sleep could offer. She continued to sleep until the dawn of next day crept through the window.

The poor orphans from Kabuto experiments were talking with Naruto when Sakura walked into the room. She noticed the orphans had light blond hair, close to the color of Ino's hair, but with hints of red in the strands.

"Sakura Chan!" Naruto exclaimed, obviously pleased that she was up.

Sakura offered him a weak smile.

"Sakura Chan," Naruto said seriously and walked up to her. "I need to go back to Kabuto's hideout in order to free the rest of the orphans. I know that it isn't a part of our mission, but I can't help it. I…"

Sakura smacked him across the head. "Hinata already told me. Go. She'll go with you. I'll escort these children back to Leaf with Sai."

Naruto gave a smile to show that he was happy with the arrangement, then pulled Sakura outside so that they were alone.

"Sakura Chan," Naruto whispered in a serious voice.

Sakura blinked. "Yes?"

"Are you… Sakura Chan, tell me what's wrong," Naruto pleaded solemnly.

Sakura was stunned by his intuition. "What do you mean?" she hedged.

"Don't take me for a fool, I understand you more than anyone — I know that something is bothering you." Naruto said in a resentful tone. "Tell me, please. Maybe I can help."

Sakura sneered at him. "Naruto, why should I trust you? You won't even tell me what happened during the war."

Immediately Sakura regretted saying that, because an expression of true hurt flashed in Naruto's eyes. He looked at Sakura with clear, pain-riddled orbs that had been exposed to too much. Sakura's heart felt a piercing pang of guilt.

"You…"Naruto tried to speak. His mind wound back to when he had had an encounter with Sakura after she had chased Sasuke to Sound. He remembered that she told him, regretfully, that she was the one who had healed Sasuke's eyes, and she was the one who had helped him to obtain the power he now wielded.

Naruto tried reassured her; to tell her that everything would be okay. Sakura had just given him a look so cynical and cruel; it had knocked the breath out of him and left him in a stunned stupor, just like he was now. Why was this Sakura, the Sakura who has regained her innocence and sense of happiness, suddenly displaying the same cruel look she had given him back then? Did she remember something?

For the first time, Naruto saw hatred in Sakura's heart. It wasn't filled with sunshine and sugar and innocence anymore. Naruto felt determination rear up inside of him.

"I'm sorry; you know I don't mean it like that…" Sakura quickly amended, her expression softening once more.

Naruto quickly shook his head. "I understand, Sakura Chan. I know what it's like to be deceived and kept in the dark for so long. But Sakura Chan, I don't really know what happened, as I wasn't with you before you lost your memories. The only people who would really know anything about it are Shizune San and Tsunade Sama, but neither of them can really talk right now…"

Sakura stared at the blond haired boy. "Perhaps she is unable to talk for a reason…" she murmured to herself.

Naruto looked at her, confusion dancing in his eyes.

Sakura quickly patted his head and smiled. "Don't trouble your pretty little head with it, Naruto Kun. I'm just glad that I have you as a friend."

"I will do everything in my power to ensure your safety, Sakura Chan. You are precious to me," Naruto told her, all seriousness in his voice.

Sakura laughed, and Naruto laughed with her. He remembered, almost nostalgically, that this was her laugh from before she had chased after Sasuke. Back when she still knew what happiness was.

Unbeknownst to both of them, a long while later, his promise would be broken. He wouldn't be able to keep the words he had said that day.


	28. Chapter 28

Thank you to dearest Sophee for betaing this.

Also I truly am thinking about abandoning this project. As my other story is going to update soon and it will be pretty time consuming and... awesome...Because when I wrote this, my writing really sucked =.=...

Also please please please help me find betas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 28-rain<p>

Naruto and Hinata left and went up north, to where Kabuto's base was hidden. Sakura and Sai were left stranded with the two young orphans. As they started their arduous journey back to Konoha, the orphans told them about their time as Kabuto's captives and experiments.

The boy said that he had been taken from his home in the middle of the night. When he woke up, he was in a cell, his sister in the cell adjacent to his. Kabuto had locked half a dozen or so boys together, and he starved them for a couple of days, before tossing an onigiri or a chicken wing or some other small scrap of food in to the cell, before watching in sick fascination as the young boys would tear each other apart in their quest for food. Luckily the boy's ability was to liquefy himself, though he wasn't a strong or capable fighter. He would curl up in the corner and watch as one other boy slaughtered all of his competitors by transforming his body in to a ball of serrated blades. The winner ate his food amongst fresh blood and flesh; though he spared the one curled in the corner.

Sakura was horrified, but Sai remained emotionless.

"That's what I had to do too," Sai said with attempted cheer, as he and the young boy shared something. "My ability is to make drawings come to life. There wasn't any ink in my cell, so I had to bite my finger to draw. It feels like such a long time ago. I won of course."

Sakura stared at the two males before her, and had no idea what to say.

"Sakura Chan, it was a very common practice to determine who is the strongest and most creative." Sai said, still sporting his annoyingly false smile. "Of course I always won."

An ink bird flew down upon them suddenly, and Sai quickly opened up a scroll and let the inked bird fall down upon the sheet of paper.

"What does it say?" Sakura asked, because no matter what the message was, whether it be good or bad, Sai gave nothing away.

"Oh, it's just that Konoha is under attack by Kabuto, so we are required to return ASAP."

Sakura punched him in to a nearby tree, before allowing him to draw a bird which could fly them all back to Konoha immediately.

The journey, though quicker than tree-hopping, still felt far too long for Sakura. The amount of chakra Sai had to use to sustain the bird tired him out quickly, but at that moment Sakura could have cared less, and instead pushed him to go faster. As soon as Konoha came to view, she could see hundreds of people scurrying like ants to the safety of the forest.

Something must have happened in the village.

She instructed Sai to take care of the children, then ran off into the village as quickly as her legs would carry her. In the distance, she could see Kakashi and Kabuto battling under the Hokage Mountain.

Her heart sank. The Hokage was taking on Kabuto by himself, and though he looked like most of his chakra was gone, he was still keeping up with the attacks that Kabuto consistently threw at him.

Kabuto mainly used a double edged small dagger to attack the Hokage, where the Kakashi used a kunai. Sakura's heart leapt in to her throat when Kakashi's exhaustion shone through and Kabuto managed to slice Kakashi's forearm, leaving a gaping would that was rapidly growing; it looked like acid had been poured on his skin.

Kabuto raised his head and smiled sinisterly. "Oh! It's Sakura San. Do you remember anything yet? Hahahaha!" he cackled, but didn't lose focus for a moment.

Sakura bit her lip. She was dying to rip him apart, limb from limb, but she knew her limit. Kabuto's ability exceeded her own – she wouldn't stand a chance. Too bad they weren't competing with medical knowledge.

Suddenly, a wave of yelling erupted behind Sakura. She turned around, and froze in place.

An army was riding through Konoha. The savages were burning the houses, killing anyone who couldn't move quickly enough. Almost every single citizen still left within Konoha was slaughtered.

Sakura wanted to scream, but no sound would leave her mouth. In a small act of desperation, she turned towards Kakashi, hoping, idiotically, that he could do something to save everyone. "Sakura, leave this place, now," he ordered her between pants.

"Not so fast," a voice protested.

It sounded oddly familiar, and Sakura turned towards the source of the voice, only to see Lord Toshi standing on a grassy hillock. He stepped forward onto the battle field.

"Kakashi San," he acknowledged respectfully. "I would like to know if you are willing to give up your place as Hokage and submit to the Land of the Water." His tone was light, with the smallest hint of sarcasm dabbing his tone. But it was also forceful, as if he was only asking because etiquette dictated he must, and he didn't truly care about Kakashi's answer

"No," Kakashi said, panting.

Sakura jumped towards her sensei and tried to heal him as much as she could. She dragged him out of immediate danger and took a look at the wound on his arm.

Lord Toshi smiled happily. "I guess we will just have to kill you then."

"Sakura, leave me, now!" Kakashi hissed at her, trying to push her away.

Sakura wanted to cry. She focused on removing the surface poison, but some poison had already gotten into Kakashi's blood stream, and she didn't know how to counter it. The results of it could be more damaging that the acidic liquid on his arm

Upon looking at the two of them, Toshi raised an eyebrow. "Just kill them," he said nonchalantly.

Kabuto charged.

Sakura stood, kunai raised, ready to fight. But she had already used most of her chakra trying to rid Kakashi's body of the poison, and was now nearly empty. Kakashi was pulling on Sakura's shirt, telling her to escape while she could, as Kabuto moved closer and closer.

Suddenly, Kabuto's arm caught on fire.

Sakura was so surprised that she dropped her kunai as she watched Kabuto's arm be ensnared by cold, cold, black flames before she felt her world shift and she ended up in Sasuke's arms.

"Were you trying to kill my wife?" Sasuke asked calmly. His hand held the back of Sakura's head, and he pressed her face into his chest, forcing her to cling to him.

Sakura was overwhelmed by the familiarity of his embrace, and her heart swelled with happiness and fear at the same time.

* * *

><p>AN: HELP ME FIND GOOD BETAS OR SELF VOLUNTEER TO MAKE MY NEXT STORY AWESOME!


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: Thank you so Sapphire Rivulet

Because of some fervent protests, I decided not to give up on this story...

Thank you for reading... Even though this story embarrasses me extremely.

I have a new story up now^^, Please check it out.

* * *

><p>Chapter 29<p>

Sakura knew that she couldn't be Sasuke's wife. Why was he still keeping up his little façade? She shook her head, determined not to think about it. There were too many other important things going on at that moment.  
>"Of course not, Sasuke Kun," Kabuto called across the expanse to where Sasuke was cradling Sakura to his chest. "I was merely going to skip past her and kill Kakashi."<br>The sound of a snapping limb broke across the plain, and Sakura cowered into Sasuke's arms, knowing that Kabuto had just ripped off his arm so as to save himself from Amaterasu. Sakura could feel fear creep into her bones. Kabuto knew that she was pregnant! What if he said something? What if Sasuke were to find out? There was no telling how he would react. But there was no time to think about that now. She turned her head slightly to see Toshi walking towards Kakashi, killing intent glinting in his eyes.  
>"No!" she cried out, struggling against Sasuke's arms to go and help Kakashi, but Sasuke held on to her firmly, hugging her from behind and refusing to let her go.<br>"Sakura..." Sasuke buried his face in her soft, pink hair. "Always so compassionate..."  
>"Sasuke, please don't let him kill Kakashi Sensei," Sakura begged him, her knuckles tapping against Sasuke's hands. "Please, please, please, I... I don't know what I would do if... I ..."<br>To both Sakura and Sasuke's dismay, she started to cry. It wasn't just soundless sobs that were being emitted from her throat, either. This was an all-out wail, ripping from her chest and filling the air with noise.  
>Remember the strawberry look? Times it by about ten and that's how Sasuke was staring at her.<br>"You can stop crying, Sakura," Kakashi called out to the girl, and Sakura immediately began to wipe away her tears and stifle her sobs. Through her blurry vision, she was able to decipher three new, hazy blobs, and upon closer inspection she was able to recognise one of them. That was Gaara, and Sakura could feel relief well up inside her. The other two were very largely built, and one of them had the word 'Raikage' written on his cloak.  
>When Sakura stopped crying, the whole place became a lot quieter.<br>Sasuke chuckled and nuzzled her hair. "My little Sakura. Always so dramatic."  
>The Raikage spoke first. "Hokage, you sure were in a pickle. Battling against Sasuke and Kabuto?"<br>Kakashi didn't respond.  
>The Raikage spared the other two Kages a glance. "Nobody objects if I kill them, correct?" he asked, though everyone could tell he was only asking out of formality.<br>Sasuke sneered. "You can try."  
>At Sasuke's comment, the Raikage began to charge, fury seeping out of his body. "Raikage," Kakashi yelled. "I think we need to establish the fact that Sakura doesn't have anything to do with... Anything."<br>Suddenly, the smaller but equally as muscular guy yelled, "Bro! We've already got a hostage, is this whole thing necessary? Yo, let's bring 'er out, see what they've all gotta say!"  
>"Silence, Bee!" the Raikage bellowed. "That hostage is necessary. She'll ensure our victory."<br>Sakura has never heard anything so strange in her entire life. "Is that rap?" she wondered aloud, but shot a curious glance at Sasuke.  
>"Apparently it's Edo rap. I walked through one of his concerts when I was traveling. He sounds horrible," Sasuke whispered against her ear, before catching her lobe affectionately between his teeth.<br>Sakura wanted to glare at Sasuke for being inappropriate, but she couldn't turn her head, and she guessed that Sasuke could do pretty much whatever he wanted wherever he wanted.  
>Killerbee yelled, "You little brat don't appreciate fine rhyming! Now you've reached the end of your... err... Time-ing!"<br>Sakura wanted to tell Killerbee that his brother and the other two Kages didn't like his rhyming either, but she knew that only Sasuke would have the guts to say so and not fear the consequences.  
>But something clicked in Sakura's brain, igniting her curiosity. "What hostage?"<br>Kabuto laughed, the sound a disturbing hiss. "Toshi San, it seems that the honorable Kages have taken your precious wife as a hostage."  
>The Raikage snapped his fingers, and a figure was brought out by a fellow guarded ninja. It was Ruka. Her mouth was gagged and her hands were tied with thick rope, which the ninja was leading her by. When her eyes alighted upon her husband, hope flashed in their depths.<br>"Ruka!" Toshi's eyes flickered with true fear, and he immediately turned to the Kages. "My wife doesn't have anything to do with any of this. I beg you to release her."  
>"HELL N -"<br>"Trade me for her!" Sakura yelled, not giving anyone time to object.  
>Everybody looked at her, curiosity and surprise showing on their features.<br>"My dear little Sakura, what are you doing?" Sasuke asked her calmly.  
>"I'm already a hostage. I wish to trade myself for Ruka-San," she said quickly, hoping that Sasuke would understand her desperation.<br>Everyone else found her outburst to be quite ludicrous, as Sakura was possibly one of the least convincing hostages anyone had ever seen. "Sakura is the last of Tsunade Sama's legacy. She was her personal student and is an asset to leaf. We can't lose her," Kakashi told everyone.  
>The Raikage snorted. "I don't car -"<br>But he was interrupted a second time, because Ruka had collapsed.  
>While the guard quickly checked up on the women, Sasuke whispered into Sakura's ear, suspicion coating his voice, "What are you planning?"<br>"Ruka San saved my life when I was captured by Toshi and Kabuto," Sakura told him. "I cannot let her die."  
>Sasuke frowned. "You were captured? Why wasn't I informed of this?"<br>Sakura could foresee many of his subordinates getting their fingers snapped over the issue.  
>The guard checked on Ruka's body and reported to the Raikage, "She had a cyanide pill concealed in her mouth, Sir. She is dead."<br>Sakura wanted to cry.  
>Toshi, overcome with sadness and grief, let out a helpless wail and charged at the guarding ninja. The ninja flung a kunai towards Toshi, obviously expecting him to dodge it with ease. But he didn't know that Toshi wasn't a ninja. The kunai went right through Toshi's chest, and the old man collapsed on the ground, the warmth that once swam in his eyes and heart for his wife fading like a candle in the wind.<br>Kabuto cackled like a maddened sadist as he watched the destruction play out before him. "Sasuke, I guess that you are the leader for the Land of Waters now."  
>Sasuke made no sign to indicate that he had heard Kabuto. Instead, he turned towards Sakura and said, "Sakura, come with me. We are going back to Rivers."<br>Sakura shook her head. "No," she protested. "I need to stay in Konoha. The village needs me; the damage they caused was too -"  
>Kakashi collapsed before Sakura could finish her sentence.<br>Sakura gasped. "Kakashi Sensei! He has been poisoned, he -"  
>"I'll take him to the nearest medical camp," Gaara quickly offered, and used his sand to gently lift the Hokage up.<br>As Kabuto began to retreat, he hissed out, "Sakura Chan, it's almost three months now, isn't it? Your belly is starting to show. Oops! Dear me, did you not want Sasuke Kun to know that you're pregnant? Hahahahaha!"  
>Both Sasuke and Sakura went pale.<br>The Raikage and Killerbee charged to pursue Kabuto, leaving Sasuke and Sakura standing on the grass field, with the cold bodies of the other couple who was once so in love.


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: Thank you so Sapphire Rivulet

Because of some fervent protests, I decided not to give up on this story...

I have a new story up now^^, Please check it out.

I won't wasting my time commenting on how bad this story is... I'm sure you guys have heard enough...

But it IS bad. For more information on how bad this is, please check out my profile.

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><p><strong>Chapter 30<strong>

Sasuke stared at Sakura, surprise glinting in his eyes. "You're pregnant?"  
>Sakura didn't know how to respond, and in her desperation, she blurted out stupidly, "You don't know it's yours!"<br>Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her, and Sakura quickly realized how stupid she was to say that.  
>"Sakura," Sasuke scowled. "Nobody else would dare touch you."<br>Except for Kabuto, Sakura thought, like it was some sick private joke.  
>"We're going back to Rivers," Sasuke said bluntly.<br>"What -"  
>Before she had a chance to protest, Sasuke wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, and everything went black.<p>

(= _ = "")

When she woke, she immediately recognized her old room from the River Country.  
>She was surprised. It wasn't as dusty as she thought it would be. The bed sheets were white and pristine, the tables had been wiped clean; even the flowers on the window sill were fresh.<br>Sakura turned to look beside her, and saw Sasuke sleeping peacefully next to her.  
>She wondered whether it was a good thing that fear first overwhelmed her, before a tentative happiness started to creep into her veins.<br>She examined his features. He always looked so perfect; his features so delicate it sent a pang of envy through her. Every curve, every line, sculpted as if it were Kami's most prized creation. She almost felt it necessary to congratulate him for being born so beautiful.  
>Sasuke opened his inky eyes, Sharingan deactivated.<br>"Sakura," Sasuke said. "I had a doctor look at you. He said you haven't been taking care of yourself properly."  
>Sakura coughed, and Sasuke frowned. "If you were aware that you were pregnant, why did you take that mission?"<br>"The mission was assigned before I found out," she quickly explained. "I thought it would take only a couple of weeks."  
>"Fool," Sasuke sneered, then closed his eyes, wanting to go back to sleep.<br>"Sasuke, I really need to go back to Konoha," Sakura begged. "Kakashi Sensei has been severely poisoned by Kabuto, I don't know what it is yet but I can tell that it's really powerful. I need to -"  
>"No. You will stay here," Sasuke said without opening his eyes.<br>Sakura bit her trembling lower lip.  
>"Don't cry," Sasuke groaned and Sakura choked out a small sob. "You are staying here whether you like it or not," he stated, finality in his tone. "You are carrying my heir. I cannot take the risk."<br>"I am only good for baring an heir, aren't I? What if I happened to be barren? You wouldn't want me as your wife then, would you?" she retorted.  
>Sasuke looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard."<br>Sakura bit his hand.  
>He didn't pull away or flinch, which only served to fuel Sakura's anger. She sunk her teeth through the soft flesh until she tasted blood, then quickly let go.<br>"Satisfied?" Sasuke looked deep in to her eyes, and she could see his desire, his wanting for her. Even after she had bitten him, he wasn't mad or angry. She almost believed he'd be willing to hurt himself for her.  
>At that moment Sakura abandoned her fear and her hatred and her anger. She pushed him down onto her bed and lowered her head to kiss him hungrily.<br>He let her do whatever she wanted, like he was playing with a child.  
>She nibbled on his lips, then on his neck, his collar, his chest...<br>He tasted absolutely amazing, as usual. His chest was toned and defined. She ripped his robes apart forcefully, and was momentarily surprised by her own strength and desperation.  
>"Sakura," He whispered. "What are you doing?"<br>"I want to fuck you," She told him, her voice sounding almost innocent as she looked straight at him.  
>He groaned, his voice soft and smooth. "Sakura, tell me what you remember."<br>Sakura stared at him in disbelief, his expression unchanging, his voice as soft as ever. She felt as if she were about to jump into a Venus fly-trap, wrapped up in the loveliest poison.  
>"Did you think I wouldn't notice?" he queried playfully.<br>Sakura was still straddling his lap, making no sign that she was going to, or wanted to, move.  
>"Every time I touch you -" he raised a hand and caressed her face, watching her flinch ever so slightly "- you flinch."<br>Sasuke caressed her cheek and her hair. "Sakura... What would you have me do? I want to spoil you to no end. I've provide everything I have to give for you, but you still don't trust me." He was still smiling, but his brows were knitted together in a frown. "Tell me, my little Sakura. What do you remember?"  
>We were never married! Sakura felt like screaming to his face, but she turned away instead and said, "I just remember some of my childhood. I feel ashamed that I was the one who did all the chasing."<br>Sasuke laughed, and Sakura stared at him in surprise. The occasion was so rare and disturbing she was sure that a puppy died every time he laughed.  
>"Don't worry about that," Sasuke said affectionately. "What goes around comes around. Wasn't I the one who had to chase you in order to talk to you in Konoha?"<br>Sakura pouted. "That's not the same. I remembered I really tried to talk you, and you were so cold and cruel to me."  
>"Heaven knows what I was thinking back then." Sasuke shrugged. "I was a fool."<br>Sakura smiled lightly. "You're right."  
>Sasuke gave her the strawberry look, then pinched her cheeks.<p>

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><p>Sigh.. as long as it pleases you guys... TBC<p> 


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: Thank you so Sapphire Rivulet

I seriously don't know how to respond to the last chapter reviews. I now know that you guys love this story and I will continue on posting it... =.=...

I can only say... Thank you for the support.

And yes I will make an effort, so I will do spacings...

Thank you guys for all the love.

PS: URGENT, FIND ME A BETA, OR SELF VOLUNTEER. I will checkout your beta profile and stories.

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><p>Chapter 31<p>

Looking back at those days in the Land of Rivers, Sakura thought it was perhaps the happiest she had ever felt in her life. Without Kabuto's incense and presence, she didn't have memories flashing back and forth all the time. Which was a good thing, because she was almost afraid to remember what had happened after his attack.

Sasuke truly spoiled her to no end during that time. He would change his schedule to spend time with her, he bought her whatever she wanted to eat, lavished her with wonderfully rich and elaborate clothing. Of course, he hardly cared for the money he spent. Whenever she wanted something, his guards were immediately at her side, piles of cash in hand.

Despite her wish to return to Konoha, he still forbade her from going back. Perhaps it was a force of habit; perhaps it was a rebellious phase. Sakura would try to sneak away, but Sasuke always found her and brought her back to her room, where he would punish her in the sweetest possible way.

One day, she begged him to retrieve the bodies of Lord and Lady Toshi, so as to give them a proper funeral. Sasuke looked at her like she'd grown an extra head upon hearing her bizarre request, but, with a sigh, made sure it was carried out.

"She protected me when I was captured," she told him soon after.

Sasuke was indifferent. "I don't know why you would be stupid enough to put yourself in such a situation. To be so vulnerable as to be taken hostage?"

"Weren't you working with Toshi?" Sakura questioned him curiously.

"Yes, but it didn't matter to me whether he was dead or alive, so long as he wasn't killed by me. In fact, it's better that he's dead, because now all of the Water nations will follow my command," Sasuke told her, rubbing a soothing hand along her stomach.

Sakura closed her eyes and didn't say anything. She was extremely careful when speaking about such things with Sasuke. He was the only person she knew who could change his mood in the space of a nanosecond. Sakura really didn't want to get on his bad side, despite the fact that he was quite content with the idea of having an heir.

"I hope it's a boy," Sasuke said thoughtfully.

Sakura pouted. "What if it's a girl?"

"Then we will continue to have more."

Sakura stared at him, speechless.

Sasuke suddenly straightened up and said, "Sakura, I want you to understand something. The last time you put yourself in danger was fine, but only because I was there. You cannot do something as stupid as that ever again. Else I'll pinch you until your cheeks resemble that of a goldfish."

Sakura stared at the raven haired man behind her, whom she was using as a couch. "I just didn't want Lady Toshi to die…"

"She died anyway," Sasuke said coldly.

"She loves her husband so much," Sakura defended.

"Lord Toshi was once quite powerful," Sasuke said, hoping to distract her from Lady Toshi's tragic fate. "He was feared by most nations because he was so rich and influential."

"Then what happened?" Sakura asked, intrigued.

"He fell in love with his brother's wife," Sasuke sighed, already bored of the topic.

"What?" Sakura's eyes began to water.

"It wasn't intentional," Sasuke reassured her. "But he killed his brother and took his wife."

"How was that not intentional?" Sakura yelled, almost leaping out of his lap.

Sasuke thought for a moment. "Hn, I suppose it was intentional then…"

"Ruka San loved Lord Toshi too," Sakura said, recalling the spark that had lit up the old lady's eyes every time she'd see her husband.

"They loved each other," Sasuke confirmed, "but Toshi lied to her about her ex-husband's death. He also tries to hide from her the fact that he didn't get involved in dirty business anymore. Ha, he's the one who suggested killing Kakashi."

Sakura stared at him.

"Too bad, Toshi was a smart man, but he created a weakness for himself the moment he killed his brother. Perhaps it's karma." He chuckled, as if laughing at some inner joke.

Sakura was silent for a while, until Sasuke caressed her head and asked her what she was thinking about. "Sasuke, is it… is it bad, for people like you to have a wife?" she asked, voicing one of her deepest concerns.

Sasuke was stunned for a moment, and then he laughed aloud.

Sakura immediately felt anger seething through her blood. "I'm being serious!"

"I understand," Sasuke chuckled, slowly recovering from his unexpected fit of amusement. "You must have mistaken me for some other commoner. Don't trouble yourself with such nonsense. It's getting late, you should go to sleep." He carried her gently back to her room, and stroked her hair until she fell asleep.

Come to think of it, Sakura was sure that those days were merely a taunting dream. A fantasy that she could swim and indulge in, but nothing more. It was a dream, and it had to end.

When Sasuke was out, Sakura stayed behind in the caves. There was an outdoor garden where she grew her herbs and indulged herself in medicinal plants. There was a small girl by the name of Riiku who often followed her around to take care of her. Sakura, by that time, was almost four months pregnant.

It was the beginning of summer, when the rain fell in near constant streams throughout the Land of Rivers. During a brief splash of sunlight, Sakura went to her precious garden and discovered a small plant of chrysalis, or at least it resembled chrysalis. But strangely enough it was completely red, with silken strands extending into petals. It grew on the edge of a rock, where a set of steps descended.

Desperately, she tried to reach the plant, but the constant rainfall had made the soil slippery. She was sure it was her imagination, but she could feel soft hands push on her back, tipping her too far forward. She fell, tumbling down the stone steps, her head crashing on the stone landing. In her desperation, her hands flew to her stomach, holding it in the best attempt she could give to keep her baby safe.

And that's where everything began to end.

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><p>AN: My exam is in a few hours, please wish me luck.

I have to say next chapter is revealing pretty much everything you guys have been wondering about. What happened to Tsunade. How did Sakura loose her memory. Why is Sasuke so cautious... blabla. This fall made Sakura remember everything.


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: Thank you to SapphireRivulet.

Please enjoy:)

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><p><strong>Chapter 32<strong>

In the beginning, there was a devastating war.

It began with a few men, an organization, and ambition. To control; over greed, having everything presented to you at the first wanton whisper.

Power, was the ideal.

It's true that there were different sides. One called themself good, and called the other evil. In truth both sides were shedding blood, and in war, there was truly no differentiating between good and evil.

The five great nations united together to form an alliance to defeat the rise of Uchiha Madara -or at least, the form that he had taken. The five Kages surrounded the cause of this war and bound him in a seal that inhibited movement, but arguments erupted on what to do with him.

"We should kill him immediately." The Raikage was violent at heart and lacked mercy.

"No, didn't you hear? Kabuto has the ability to bring the dead back to life, or something like that." The Hokage frowned at that suggested solution.

"We should bind him with seals then," The Kazekage said, thinking of the seal that had killed Orochimaru. "Tsunade Sama, wasn't there a seal that was used to remove souls?"

Tsunade's anger flared up. "The Dead Demon Seal? The caster must give their own life as well."

"Oh." Garra's reaction was as blank as ever.

In the silence, a storm of lightning appeared beside the various Kages, and out came Uchiha Sasuke, tattered and bruised from his fight with Kabuto, but otherwise unharmed. Sakura stood beside him, her eyes void of emotion.

Meanwhile, Tenten looked up at the cliff from below. The lightning had startled her. She narrowed her eyes at the two figures that had just appeared. "Is that Sakura?"

No one was alive beside her to answer.

"Go away, Uchiha." Tsunade frowned in annoyance. "We've just fought one Uchiha; any grudges you have against Konoha must wait until -"

"I don't have a bone to pick with Konoha right now." Sasuke's eyes were blood red. "I want to have a talk with this... Madara here."

The Raikage raised his hand as if he were trying to crush Sasuke into dust. "You brat, you can't talk to him, we're going to kill him."

"My thoughts exactly." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I presume you are trying to seal or remove his soul so he can't come back?"

"That depends," Garra said carefully. "Is Kabuto still alive?"

Sasuke chuckled. "I don't know. Are you willing to take that chance?"

"Weren't you supposed to kill him!" the Raikage roared.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and activated his Susano'o. The blow forced everyone to take a step back, except for the near-lifeless body of Uchiha Madara, who was wrapped in the binding seal. Sasuke extended his arms; the large death-like figure behind him also extended hollow hands, and clasped them around Madara as Sasuke clasped his hands together.

"I want this thing to be removed," Sasuke said lightly, almost to himself. "I am the last and true Uchiha."

"You're sick," Tsunade spat.

Then Sasuke turned his eyes to the pink haired girl behind him, a sneer on his face.

"Sakura, don't you love me?" Sasuke asked mockingly, his eyes spinning madly while he held Uchiha Madara in his Susano'o.

Sakura stood by the cliff as she gazed into the darkness of Sasuke's cold eyes. The boy she had once loved so desperately was completely gone now.

"Do it, Sakura," Sasuke said.

Tsunade's eyes widened in horror. She realized what Sasuke wanted Sakura to do. Sakura was one of the few people other than Tsunade herself who could perform such a jutsu…

"Sakura!" Tsunade yelled, her anger overpowering her senses.

Sakura turned her head and looked at the crowd behind her. There were some heavily judgmental eyes glaring at her from the sea of ninja. Some were looking at her with fear, some with pure spite, some with worry, some with admiration.

In truth she really didn't want to fight anymore. What was the point now? What was the point? There wasn't anyone to live for -

Sakura wondered where Naruto was at that moment. He wouldn't be there to see her last few moments on Earth.

But all of that was soon to be in the past. She shook her head, and turned to look at the figure slumped in Susano'o's hands.

She quivered slightly, then raised her hands and formed a series of seals.

Sasuke smirked. "Good girl."

"Sakura! You stupid, stupid child!" Tsunade screamed, her voice sounding half mad. "You get back here right now! Get back to Sensei, Sensei will protect you! That Uchiha brat won't dare to touch you!"

Sakura's heart felt like it was being ripped into pieces. She was desperately trying to remember how to form that seal. It was fairly complicated, but she had a good memory.

Ah, memory.

"Sakura." Sasuke smiled, and his Susano'o increased slightly in strength. It was holding Madara as tightly as it could without breaking him.

Sakura ignored him. She looked towards Tsunade, and mouthed, "Thank you, Sensei."

"SAKURA!" Tsunade screamed louder, she lunged towards Sakura, but Shizune and several other Kages held her back.

"Hokage Sama, you must consider your citizens!"

"Hokage Sama, remember your village!"

"Hokage Sama, please don't be rash..."

Tsunade's blood shot eyes filled with hatred and desperation. She looked into Sasuke's spinning eyes; he looked as if he was mocking her.

Sakura ignored all those around her; she formed all the pre-seals, then slowly walked towards the mangled body of Uchiha Madara, taking his hand firmly in hers.

Her hand was cover in dark black marks. They writhed and stretched out beyond her hand and into the head and skull of Madara's body. Madara screamed as Sakura's seals covered his entire being, until he turned completely black with ink from the seals.

She exhaled heavily.

"Sakura, Sakura... SAKURA!" Tsunade screamed, her voice going hoarse. "Let go of me you fools! She's my precious student, my little Sakura, my child..." her heart broke to see her favorite pupil slowly turn into a tool, a mindless tool that was about to present its usefulness... and die.

Sasuke watched emotionlessly, his eyes spinning at the crowd.

Sakura cried out as the black marks surrounded Madara. A pair of hands reached down from the heavens as if judgment day had arrived, and pulled at Madara and Sakura's body. It was not a fast process, but it felt as if time slowed down as everybody watched the two figures covered in seals screaming.

A flash appeared in front of Tsunade. Her mind was taken back to when she first met Sakura. It was on a fine sunny day, and the weak little girl who could barely punch a tree barged into her office and yelled, "I want you to train me!" The Tsunade back then raised a blonde brow and flicked her from one side of the room to the other.

That was the first time she used force on the girl to make her wake up from her illusion.  
>Something overcame Tsunade, she struggled free and took one hard look at Sasuke, who held no expression whatsoever, and she ran towards her precious pupil, performing a seal beneath the roseate.<p>

Sasuke watched, slightly bemused, as the hand that was pulling from Sakura's body switched to Tsunade's body in a slow, steady motion.

Shizune lunged towards Tsunade. "Tsunade Sama! No!"

Sasuke smacked Shizune away with Susano'o by only lifting a brow.

The Divine hands continued to pull from Madara and Tsunade's body, pulling out a white, wispy form of them. Sakura blinked as the black marks receded from her own body and all over her Sensei's.

"I've..." Tsunade tried to say something, but Sakura was trembling, and every sound faded out.

"Sakura..." Tsunade whispered, "I've lived for such a long time..."

"Sensei... Sensei!" Sakura stared in disbelief as dark seal marks started to twist up Tsunade's body, coloring the flesh in black ink right from her toes and edging up to her head.

"Sensei, please don't do this, you have a whole village to take care of! You have everyone to look after, you can't leave, you can't leave!" Sakura felt like a goldfish running out of water to swim in, desperately trying to gasp her way towards freedom. Tears brimmed at the edges of her eyes, because she was prepared for death, and her Sensei was not. Shame overcame her, shame because she was throwing away her life for Sasuke, shame because the person who raised her to be a strong shinobi was throwing away her life for Sakura.

Tsunade ignored her pleas; she could feel her feet going numb as the ink trailed up and up... her legs, her waist...

"This is my duty." Tsunade whispered. "Sakura, go. Sensei will take it from here. Go!" she screamed the last word.

Sakura stumbled backwards, as if Tsunade's words had a physical force.

The black marks edged close to Tsunade's head. The Fifth Hokage glanced towards Sasuke, who looked at the scene as if it were an everyday occurrence.

"You are going to hell, Uchiha Sasuke," Tsunade whispered. "I..."

She couldn't speak anymore, as the black marks had risen above her lips.  
>Sasuke looked into Tsunade's eyes, and a small smile tugged at the rims of his lips. The tiniest little smile. His lips curved slightly, as if telling her something.<p>

Tsunade realized in horror that Sasuke had planned all of this. His plan was to have Tsunade interfere and save Sakura all along. Because he knew that she could not stand still and watch Sakura die.

Tsunade wanted to drag Sasuke to hell with her. She stared at him with pure loathing in her eyes, but she wasn't able to speak anymore. What was Sasuke's plan? Did he want to attack Konoha? Did he want to eliminate the Hokage?

There was something stronger than hatred. Sasuke was a monster for realizing and manipulating this. He understood that hatred was merely a force, a driving force that could incite power and revenge. But love… love had the power of sacrifice. What could be more wicked than manipulating someone's love into an ultimate form of sacrifice?

Tsunade was unable to speak. She tore her eyes away from the Uchiha, and looked into Sakura's sobbing ones. Sakura's eyes were so clear, so innocent, and so worn out. Poor child, she found herself thinking. Poor child...

Tsunade sincerely hoped that her innocent little pupil learned something from this.

The seal markings were slowly extending towards her eyes. Tsunade took one last look at the crowd. She saw Shizune, who was going mad and desperately trying to rush over to her.  
>Every sound, every moment seemed to be fading out now. The sounds were so distant, so unbelievably far away.<p>

Tsunade felt tired. She felt so very tired.

When she was a young girl, Sarutobi Sensei told her the legend of what happens after death. An old woman on an old bridge across the river separating life and death would be waiting. She would cook warm soup that made the wandering souls forget their previous memories and be born to the next life as a clean newborn.

"Sensei, how do you know that you're about to die?"

"You see red petals. They grow because of the blood we shed -"

She could see the river of death now, with the memory bridge. Beside the bridge was the red chrysalis, each flower's silky strands blooming violently, as if welcoming the lost souls. Afar, there was an old woman waiting in the middle of the bridge for Tsunade with a bowl of hot, ginger soup.

"Come," she croaked. "Drink this and all your memories will be erased. You will be reincarnated into a new life..."

Tsunade smiled. She took off her heels and ran towards the bridge.

The Fifth Hokage closed her eyes and let the seal marks cover her forehead and skull.

Perhaps it was time to rest...

In her last few moments, so many images, flashbacks of her life permeated her brain, like a final farewell video for an old soul.

"Tsunade, why are you so flat chested?"

"Tsunade Sama, I'm Dan's nephew. My name is Shizune."

"Tsunade Sama, my name is Sakura, and I would like to be strong."

"Tsunade. I'm leaving. I'm going to find the leader of Akatsuki."

"Tsunade Obaa-chan! You should just step down and let ME be the Hokage!"

"Tsunade, if you are reading this, it means I am dead..."

Tsunade shut off her mind, and let the darkness overwhelm her.

"Hi! My name is Jiraiya! And this teme here is called Orochimaru. I'm stronger than him, so you can write love letters to me later!"

"Tsk."

"Did you just tsk me? Ouch! Sarutobi Sensei! Why did you hit me?"

"I... My... My name is Tsunade... And I would like to be the first female Hokage..."

First female Hokage...

Female Hokage...

Hokage...

...

The cliff was deadly silent as the two figures slumped towards the ground, and the hands that had held so tightly onto the whispery souls retracted themselves back into the sky.

The only sound that could be heard was Sakura's whimper. She crawled to Tsunade's body and held her head against her lap. Her tears and sobs mixed in with inaudible sounds in her throat, chanting a verse that was said to help the dead cross from this life to the next.

That is how the war ended. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.

* * *

><p>AN: Due to my lateness in updating this, I will post the next chapter tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: Thank you to SapphireRivulet.

Please enjoy:)

I apologize for the word length... It's too short.

Thank you all for the reviews that kept on reminding me I should update this.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Chapter 33<strong>**

Sakura opened her eyes. There was nothing and no one in front of her. She could only see the blue sky and bright green leaves.

She remembered that she had been in her precious garden and she slipped...

Sakura looked around; there really was no one near her. Where was Riiku?

Her mind spun back to her memories that had broken free. Everything about her life, from the moment she could remember things to the moment she had fallen down that cliff - she remembered it all.

Memory. Such a powerful tool...

Tears overwhelmed her. It was a bright sunny afternoon, but Sakura's mind went cold, and she was shivering uncontrollably.

"Tsunade... Sama..."

She remembered the scene as clearly as if it had happened yesterday, when Tsunade had extended her arms out to Sakura, and smiled. "Sakura, you are my precious pupil, and I will always protect you."

Her smile was so warm, so genuine, and so honest.

It was during the time where Sakura had decided to leave Konoha, but couldn't bring herself to tell Tsunade.

Despite her betrayal to the village, her Shishou still saved her in the end, sacrificing herself in the process.

She closed her eyes and let the tears roll down from her cheeks.

"I am so, so... sorry..."

Sakura desperately tried to stand up, but after several attempts, she found that she couldn't.

A sudden sharp pain pierced her abdomen, and blood started to pool around her pelvis. She stared in horror as a bright crimson stain blossomed across the concrete and her dress, reminding her painfully of the Sharingan as it span wildly, out of control…

She couldn't make a sound. Terror tore through her system, leaving her body feeling numb.

Sakura desperately wanted to faint. She wanted everything to end immediately. She wanted to fall back into the darkness and rewind her clock again. Tenten was right. She didn't want to remember. She didn't want to remember at all.

But what about the baby? That small baby boy, that tiny little being that was supposed to be her light, her warmth, and her salvation?

Sakura let out a desperate scream that pierced through the air like a kunai slicing into human flesh.

Sakura had a dream. It was a dark dream, but at the same time, it was a little warm inside.  
>She was in a dark, empty void. She was standing on nothing, yet there was a solidity beneath her feet which she couldn't quite identify. In front of her was a small light that flickered like a weak candle in a storm.<p>

She saw a child. He was so small, so tiny.

"Mommy," he called out to her. "Mommy, protect me."

Sakura desperately tried to reach him; she desperately fought to reach his chubby little arms and legs.

He was her little baby, the baby that would be bathed in sunshine and peace and harmony. She would hold him close to her; sing a lullaby about all that's good in the world. She would love him so much that her entire being would be based solely around him.

But the little boy smiled sadly and said, "Goodbye, Ka-chan."

And he fell, before the darkness consumed him.

Sakura screamed. She screamed and screamed, she was screaming when she woke up, she was screaming when the nurse rushed in, she was screaming when Sasuke rushed in.

She grabbed on to Sasuke and screamed, "He didn't even have a name! He never had a chance to be named!"

Sasuke had never felt so terrified since the Uchiha massacre. For the first time in his adult life he panicked, and didn't know what to do. He had found out about the loss of their baby two days ago, when Sakura was still in her coma.

Sakura had cried in front of him before, and it ignited a murderous feeling deep in his gut. Now, he had lost all of his motives. There wasn't anything he could offer to Sakura. He felt helpless as darkness sunk around him.

Her screams were like needles pricking at his heart. She looked almost insane from being tortured so much.

Sakura suddenly pushed him away, and he stumbled back with the force. "You killed my Shishou," she accused venomously.

Sasuke was stunned. He didn't know that she had remembered.

"You tried to kill me; you tried to manipulate me into sealing Madara for you," Sakura continued.

Sasuke didn't deny it, but his heart began to sink.

"We weren't married," Sakura told him. "You made it up. I wasn't a virgin anymore because... because of..."

The room was silent for a while.

"Kakashi San was right," Sakura murmured, her tone bitter and weak. "From the moment I first met you, I was doomed."

Sakura lifted her eyelids and looked straight into Sasuke's eyes. "Can you hear it, Sasuke Kun?"

"Hear... What?" Sasuke croaked, his voice cracking.

_My heart. It's breaking_.

Sakura took the cup sitting on her bedside table. She tried to drink from it, but she couldn't stop crying. She cried for her fate, she cried for her unborn child, she cried for Sasuke; the avenger that brought doom upon those around him.

Tears seemed to flow out like broken string of pearls. They fell into the cup, mixing in with her tea.

Sasuke stood by her bedside. He could feel the girl in front of him falling apart piece by piece.  
>The room was dead silent, but inside, he was screaming.<p>

* * *

><p>AN:I think by this point its safe to say their relationship is over...according to Sakura.

Don't worry.


	34. Chapter 34

A/N: Thank you to Sapphire Rivulet

As you guys know I am in a desperate need for betas, please recommend some or self volunteer.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong>Chapter 34<strong>****

* * *

><p>Sasuke forbade Sakura from going anywhere.<p>

She was very weak after the loss of her baby. In his wrath, Sasuke had ordered the girl, Riiku, to be steamed alive.

Sakura stayed silent.

She barely moved; barely ate. She was like a living zombie, barely moving unless necessary.

She would get out of bed only to go to the washroom, and eat only to stay alive. The rest of the time, she lay on her bed, her face buried in pillows.

Sasuke tried to stay by her 24/7. He made sure that she wasn't doing anything self-destructive or harmful to herself. He did everything in his power to ensure that she wouldn't find a way to commit suicide.

Her extreme depression lasted around a week, before it simmered down to a dull throb around the edges of her being.

Sasuke watched as the girl who was once so full of sunshine turned into a woman who was filled with hope and love. Now, she was barely a husk of the girl who used to prevail against all adversity that came her way.

Sasuke kept her in the hospital for a week, before she was returned to her room.

Sasuke waited patiently, and Sakura thought about her life.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that her life had revolved around Sasuke. She wondered where her dignity had gone.

She wondered if she had learned anything from the last few years, up to the point whereTsunade-Shishou had sacrificed herself for Sakura.

Everything made perfect sense somehow. That was why Shizune-San had hated her! Sakura was the reason that Tsunade was dead.

How despicable.

She turned her head to look at Sasuke, who was reading some scrolls at the table. When he felt her gaze, he turned his head towards her.

She saw the warmest, most comforting gaze pouring from his eyes and washing over her entire body. That look had not been present a long time ago when she had first removed those bandages from his eyes.

Kakashi-Sensei...

Sakura wallowed in pain and sorrow. It was very clear that she had been nothing more than a tool. Tossed and turned, used by Uchiha Sasuke, and all this time, she had even believed that she was his wife.

How foolish.

Sakura, Sakura, Sakura...

You were always doomed...

She remembered back to almost a year ago when she had lost her memories. Her heart had thumped wildly for Sasuke, her eyes glued to Sasuke, her love and affection, all for Sasuke.

She looked at his perfectly delicate features, his porcelain skin, onyx eyes, high cheekbones...

And she found that her heart didn't flutter anymore.

Maybe it was time to let go...?

She clenched her chest; he immediately rushed to her side. "Are you alright?"

Sakura asked him, "What were you thinking? Back when you used me as a tool to dispose of Madara?"

Sasuke chuckled, though his eyes showed no amusement, and he looked away from her. "I was blind."

I was blind...

It was so simple. Three simple words. I was blind...

Do you mean that literally or metaphorically? Sakura wanted to ask.

"Don't touch me," she said to him and rolled over to wrap herself in her blankets like a cocoon.

Sakura became busy after she returned to her room.

Summer came. Many fresh herbs in the garden were waiting to be picked and washed and made into medicine. Sakura had already lain in bed for nigh on three weeks. She decided that life was too short to be sitting around and doing nothing. She could be making medicine, adding more and more to her little medicine kit collection. Just in case one day she returned to Konoha and she needed to help.

She held on to the hope of returning to Konoha.

It was not an easy task, really. She started work during the day. First she weeded out the unnecessary weeds in her garden, then she picked the leaves and sprouts of some herbs. After soaking them in water, she began the long and tedious process of pounding them into paste.

Just like she did back then, when she was an ignorant fool.

The garden had grown wild during those months she had spent back in Konoha, but it was still in reasonable shape. Granted, there was some weeding to do, but it was still recognisable as an herb garden.

Sometimes she would sit down and close her eyes; all she could think about was her baby.  
>Her precious little baby boy, the baby who was so cute and innocent... the baby that would never see the sun rise.<p>

She had thought of a name. She thought long and hard while day dreaming about her baby, and she came up with the name Hikaru. Just like what she once hoped to have. A light; a sun; a ball of warmth.

If her baby had lived, she would educate him properly. She would train him to be a gentleman towards girls; she would let him grow to be like his father.

But it was all shattered hopes and dreams.

She opened her eyes, and they were all gone. Her hopes and dreams. They flew away like thoughts in the wind.

Sakura would then exhaust herself processing the herbs, before going back to her room and wrapping herself in her sheets, wrapping away all of her dreams and fantasies and burying then in the graveyard that use to be her heart.

* * *

><p>AN: I admit this chapter basically talked about nothing. Please find me betas, please please please please.

Next Chapter coming up tomorrow.


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: Thank you to Sapphire Rivulet

As you guys know I am in a desperate need for betas, please recommend someone or self volunteer.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Chapter 35<strong>**

* * *

><p>Another month passed, and summer was quickly blooming. All the flowers had burst open in a sea of color and the birds sang their songs bright and early, much to Sakura's annoyance. She used to love morning, because that was when she would catch her Sasuke Kun.<p>

Now, she curled up in her bed and slept past noon, not caring at all whether Sasuke was dead or alive.

She didn't try to go back to Konoha anymore. She had lost the will to try.

Although Sakura had been forcing herself to get out of this depression, it became clearer and clearer every moment that the monster called Sadness would probably haunt her for the rest of her life. As long as she was with Sasuke, she could never be happy.

She and Sasuke grew apart.

At first Sasuke came every single day to ensure she didn't do something stupid like killing herself, and after a while Sasuke realized that she wouldn't commit suicide, so he got busier and busier. He came less and less, and eventually she would see him once every two days; once every three days.

They rarely talked when they saw each other. The memory of her unborn child panged painfully in Sakura's heart every time she looked at him. Sasuke never approached her directly; instead he deliberately created situations where Sakura had no choice but to be near him.

Soon, that little trick lost its thrill, as Sakura ignored him regardless.

Sasuke began to long for her presence, even to the point where he didn't care if she ignored him, just as long as he could be near her.

He remembered a time when he was utterly disgusted by her, her every act and move had forced him to the brink of fleeing for the hills. Now, he could barely get enough of her, and he often wondered whether Kami was just giving him his karma.

He waited for the day that she would forgive him.

Perhaps she never would...

Summer rolled into autumn; the leaves began to turn yellow, and Sasuke sat in the herb garden one night, drinking cherry-blossom sake.

Sakura was collecting moongrass. Naturally, moongrass was best when picked under moonlight, and that night it was a full moon.

Sasuke watched as Sakura bent down to pick each leaf, one by one, then place them carefully in the basket at her side.

She looked as if she wasn't from this world. There was a sense of serenity and peace in her expression that Sasuke has rarely seen before. He wanted to stare at her forever, and enjoy the peace she brought him.

A branch pricked Sakura's finger, and a drop of blood squeezed out. Sakura frowned, and within a moment Sasuke had appeared in front of her. Her finger was in his mouth before she had a chance to protest.

He sucked and licked at her wound, his eyes closed. Neither of them moved as his tongue twirled around the appendage.

Sakura's eyes darted towards his hair. It reflected the moonlight. Its raven color actually shone underneath the light, as if a halo had decided to dance upon his dark tresses.

He was still holding her hand, her finger still in his mouth. It had stopped bleeding by now. She didn't pull away, but he let go and she stepped back a few steps, trying to put some distance between them.

"Sakura." His voice was soft. A cold fragrance blew in her direction, and she shivered, and ran back to her room.

The basket of moongrass was dropped on the ground, scattered around by the wind.

Sasuke stood in the garden alone. The moonlight glowed against the leaves, making the place as bright as day.

* * *

><p>Sakura was sewing some cloth when an explosion was heard in the distance.<p>

Her heart dropped as she looked up from her work.

She looked at Sasuke, who frowned and looked up from his scroll.

A guard wearing an eagle mask appeared. "Sir, the Raikage has arrived, he's declaring war against us."

Sasuke sighed. "How annoying."

Sakura noticed that the man was injured, and asked, "Are you alright?"

He bowed his head deeply. "I was poisoned by Kabuto last month. The symptoms haven't been showing until recently."

Sakura quickly leaped over her couch and examined the man, it was clearly shone that part of his body was becoming transparent, the flow of the blood could be seen underneath the flesh, "Your body needs a thorough cleansing; I don't have enough chakra to do this."

The man tried to protest. "It's fine, please -"

"Sasuke... Isn't he your subject? Can't you heal him?" Sakura turned imploring green eyes on Sasuke.

"No."

"What do you mean, no?" Sakura cried out. "He has been loyal to you all this time!"

"If I cleanse him, he will kill me," Sasuke said simply.

"Not everyone is as despicable as you are," Sakura spat.

For a moment it seemed as if time had stopped. Sakura regretted her words almost as soon as she said them. This was a man who had used her, manipulated her, played her, yes. But somewhere deep in her heart it hurt saying such words that she couldn't take back. They seemed to be the only weapon that would pierce Sasuke's armor.

Sasuke looked at the two people in front of him. "Ryuku, come here," he finally sighed.

The Bird Masked man walked over to Sasuke obediently.

Sasuke forced him to sit down, and he focused a flood chakra to his hands, running them gently along Ryuku's body.

The process continued for several minutes, until Sasuke started to breathe heavily.

Suddenly, a thunderous yell came from the cave entrance, and everyone turned to the sound.  
>"Uchiha Sasuke!"<p>

Sasuke looked up, then stared at the roseate. "Stay here," he said, and walked out of the door.

Almost as soon as he disappeared, Ryuku charged at Sakura.

* * *

><p>AN: Searching for Beta.


	36. Chapter 36

A/N: Thank you to Sapphire Rivulet

As you guys know I am in a desperate need for betas, please recommend someone or self volunteer.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Chapter 36-rain<strong>**

* * *

><p>Caught by surprise, Sakura was quickly bound by Ryuku.<p>

"What -?"

He stuffed a piece of cloth gruffly in her mouth.

"I've got nothing against you," he said, "but we are planning on killing Uchiha Sasuke."

Her blood ran cold in her veins at those words, and she wondered why she cared.

"He's too cruel and powerful to be allowed to exist in this world," Ryuku continued. "We cannot let him lead us any longer. We're switching sides to Lightening. We'll let the Raikage kill him."

A coup? Sakura's eyes widened. What would they do with her?

Ryuku led her out to the grassy field in front of the cave, where Sasuke and the Raikage was already engaged in a fierce battle. He pinched Sakura really hard while pulling out the piece of cloth, and she yelped at the sudden sharp pain.

Sasuke lost his focus for just a moment, and his body was punched away by the Raikage, who immediately regretted not giving a far deadlier blow.

Sasuke stood up, his eyes spinning madly.

The Raikage laughed loudly. "Some leader you are! You couldn't even retain the loyalty of your subjects!"

Sasuke watched as more and more of his subjects filtered onto the plain behind Sakura, who was still tied up.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Ryuku called across the expanse. "You steamed my sister alive, and now you will pay the price: death."

Sakura stared at her captor. Riiku was his sister?

Sasuke looked at the crowd in front of him lazily. He sneered at them. "You think you could kill me?"

"If we have her, then yes," Sakura's captor replied.

"This is low, even for you," Sakura said, though she didn't struggle against his grip. It was kind of pointless.

Sasuke observed the scene, amusement tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Raikage, you are certainly... desperate."

The Raikage grew red from embarrassment. "Shut up, do you realize how many of our men you have killed?"

Sasuke's eyes flickered towards Sakura. "Lightening nins have caused plenty of trouble in my territory, Raikage. Killing is all we know. In the end, killing became everything."

At his last word, he blinked twice, and his eyes turned into a deadly black and red color, setting alight anything it gazed upon with a terrible black flame. The

Raikage quickly jumped out of the way, but everyone standing behind him wasn't fast enough and soon caught on fire. Ryuku leaped behind Sakura in a desperate hope that she would shield him from the flames.

Sakura watched Sasuke bitterly as he stood at the other end of the grassy plain. She watched as he struggled to fight off everyone, when the whole world seemed to be against him. There was so much hatred, so much pain in his heart; she was so selfish to have never realized.

The tragedy of the Uchiha family was quite stunning. How a damaged boy who was barely twenty was uttering the words, "Killing is all we know. In the end, killing became everything."

She managed to free herself from her bindings and walked towards him, struggling against Ryuku who was still behind her. She eventually punched him away as he was so irritating.

"Sasuke Kun," she called out, walking closer to him. She could tell that he was basically out of chakra. Most of his chakra had been expended to cleanse Ryuku.  
>He refused to look at her, his eyes darting towards his pitiful victims.<p>

Some hid, some ran away, burning. Some stood, burning.

The fire extended past the field, over to the forest.

"Sasuke Kun," Sakura called. She was almost there, so close, just a little further to go -

Pain ripped through her as she felt a kunai drive itself into her back, and she screamed at the shock and pain it sent rippling through her body.

"Sakura..." Sasuke blinked once and his eyes returned to the simplest form of Sharingan. "You are so careless."

Sakura pulled out the kunai from her back and immediately sent chakra to the wound in order to heal it.

"Sasuke Kun, I am so sorry..."

Sasuke walked towards her slowly, and lifted her up by her collar. "What should I do with you, Sa-ku-ra?"

His voice was lathered with love and longing.

Sakura hugged him. She clung on to his waist as tightly as possible, because she could see the blood soaking though his white robes.

"I don't have much chakra left," he whispered in her ear. "Let's go back to the cave."

"Are we able to hide in there?" Sakura asked. She wasn't afraid, even though Sasuke was exhausted, severely injured by the Raikage and the excessive use of his eyes.

"Yes," he whispered, eyes narrowing.

She could tell that he was having trouble standing. But he was still standing, because the enemy wouldn't dare approach when he is standing.

She didn't waste another second. She wrapped an arm around his waist, another hand summoning up healing chakra to stem the bleeding in his chest, arms, and thigh. She jumped as fast as she could, ignoring the searing pain blossoming in her own chest, where a fresh kunai wound was still evident.

* * *

><p>AN: Somehow I feel this chapter was a bit ... bland. Please help me in search for an awesome beta.


	37. Chapter 37

A/N: Thank you to Sapphire Rivulet

As you guys know I am in a desperate need for betas, please recommend someone or self volunteer.

Yesterday around this time I uploaded a chapter, and I went to site preview to look at it, and I found my self wanting bow down to you guys and say sorry. The chapters are so short that if I was a reader stumbling on to this story, I would have the urge to slap this author. It doesn't take much to type more words, yet I don't know what I was thinking last year when I wrote this...

Well for a longer and better story, go read LIE.

Also a note, I will update the next chapter tomorrow, after that there will be a short short break in which I will try to edit the rest of the 12 chapters into something at least decent.

Thank you very much for reading.

Oh also looking for beta.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 37<strong>

* * *

><p>Sasuke muttered instructions for Sakura to follow through the huge labyrinthine twists and turns of the cave. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, but his breath was becoming short and raspy with every minute. "Turn right… Left now. Continue four hundred meters…"<p>

After a few good minutes of running around as fast as she could, they arrived at an entrance to a room. It was dark and cold, but it had one unique feature, which was that there were a few doors leading to the forest, out of the cave.

Sakura set Sasuke down; by this time he was half conscious. She quickly tried to heal some of his major wounds, before she inserted some of her chakra into his tissue, encouraging it to heal faster. Then she examined his eyes, which were not damaged irreparably, thank the Gods.

Also, he was so chakra depleted she didn't know how he was able to stay conscious.

"Sakura," he said. "Sakura, don't leave..."

Sakura nodded. "I won't leave." Then she stood up, looking around the room.

Unnoticed by the roseate, his hand reached up for a flower-shaped switch above the bed, and he twirled his finger around the outside.

The room was designed by him, as a last resort. The switch was able to lockdown the entire room; therefore no enemies could ever get in. But it was a double edged sword: no one could get out, either.

The room was essentially a tomb.

Originally Sasuke thought that if he lived his life to the point where he had to hide in this room to avoid his pursuers, he might as well lock himself in and die.

Because back then, to Sasuke, the measure of someone's worth was their power.

He was trying his best to keep his eyes open. His gaze followed Sakura, each of her movements imprinted in his memory.

She moved closer to the exit, and he tightened his grip on the switch.

She leaned against a cabinet and muttered to herself, "There's actually food in here. I can't believe it. I wonder if I could make some medicine from these herbs... If only I had the tools! Let's see, Sasuke needs some high protein beans..."

Sasuke closed his eyes, and his hand let go of the switch.

He drifted into sleep, the deepest sleep he'd had since he'd run away from Konoha.

* * *

><p>Two years ago<p>

* * *

><p>Sakura watched as her sensei died in front of her.<p>

She couldn't breathe; her head was becoming muddled by the idea that her precious sensei had just sacrificed herself to save her.

Sasuke was quite content with how things had played out. He turned towards the various worn Kages and smiled sarcastically. "Anyone else want to play with me?"

"You bastard!" Shizune screamed.

Sasuke frowned. One day he was going to silence that mouth of hers.

"Sasuke," Sakura whimpered. "What are you doing?"

Sasuke was blunt and brutal in his answer. "I want to control everything."

Sakura stared at him. "You can't take over everything by force, and you can't unite all the worlds through fear and oppression."

"Of course I can," came the haughty reply. "I will kill anyone and everyone who opposes me."

Sakura stared at him in disbelief.

"Sakura, come here," Sasuke said, extending his hand out to her.

She backed away from him, stepping away from the crowd and away from him.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Sasuke asked, as if talking to a pet. "Come with me."

"No," Sakura said. "I..."

Her mind turned back to a few years ago, when she was still young and spoilt under Tsunade's protection.

"Shishou, how do you know you're about to die?"

"You see a flower," Tsunade had said without hesitation. "It's dyed scarlet, because of the blood we shed. It has petals like silken strands, because it's reaching towards our soul."

"Is that what death is?"

"Yes, and only you can see it."

And now, at the edge of that cliff, she saw it, that flower that blooms so beautifully under the sun, like a bloody dream.

She took one last look at Sasuke, the boy she had loved all her life - and jumped.

And...

Of course, Sasuke went searching for her body, but it was ever found.


	38. Chapter 38

A/N: Thank you to Sapphire Rivulet

Thank you all so, so much.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 38<strong>

* * *

><p>The greatness of Uchiha Sasuke began in his bedroom and never quite reached beyond the gates of the Uchiha compound during the first decade of his life.<p>

He had an older brother who excelled at everything he did, a doting mother, and an asshole of a father.

"My son needs to be the strongest there is," his father would say, and he would watch as Itachi exceeded his expectations at everything without much effort.

Sasuke watched as his little hands were scraped and bruised by vigorous training.

He watched many, many things.

His family was perhaps the most influential family in the village, and that was its curse.

Itachi was very, very fond of his little brother. He loved Sasuke with all his heart, and at that time, it was all his little heart could allow him to love. All the feelings he had towards other people were poured into this cup that Sasuke possessed, and there was so much love it overflowed.

Sasuke, of course, never knew that.

Itachi taught Sasuke many things in his life. He taught Sasuke how to throw a kunai; how to plant okaa-chan's favorite tulips; how to appreciate life…

But all of that was lost in Sasuke's view of their father, and that blinded him.

Looking back on his life, Sasuke would admit that he had been blind most of the time. He just never realized it until it was too late.

Perhaps it was as he was assigned to the same team as Sakura and Naruto that he truly understood the concept of warmth.

But warmth in itself was not necessarily enough to overcome a lifetime full of darkness. Sasuke firmly believed that he had been wronged by the world, and he needed to achieve revenge through the most radical means.

He chose this path willingly. He chose it when Naruto willingly called him friend; he chose it when Sakura chased him around and claimed that she would marry him one day.

He would prevail, and he would cut down anyone that stood in his way.

You could call it his life-long plan.

Turned out he'd learned something from Orochimaru after all. He learned to manipulate and deceive those around him, and obtain what he wanted by force.

He learned how to use people for their worth, then toss them away like garbage.

He learned to refine his poker face. He learned politics, armory, management, power…

By the time he was twenty, he had already learned many, many things in the world.

And then it occurred to him that when he died he wouldn't have an heir.

And he regretted having pushed Sakura over the precipice towards death.

He spent his twentieth birthday alone, with a feast prepared by his servants, though he was the only one sitting and eating, because nobody else was worthy of sitting at the same table as him.

And then Sasuke was reminded of a time long ago… when Sakura and Naruto had celebrated his twelfth birthday over cake and ramen. Sakura had urged him to make a wish. At that time, he had wished for power. The power to kill anyone he so desired…

That wish had already been completed. It was time for a new wish.

He stared at the feast that lay in front of him. There was a cake; it was elaborately decorated, with candles burning so brightly into the cream. Waxen tears dripped on to the surface, and tainted the pure white cream with clouded candle.

He wished for another chance…

Soon, Sasuke became busier and busier. He travelled around the countries to negotiate; he travelled between bases to inspect his army; he trained spies and elites to infiltrate various villages…

It was all very exhausting work.

Of course, he searched for her body. The body of the girl whose heart he broke.

He searched and searched. He had probably combed the whole valley and river.

He literally sucked the waters dry to find her body. He searched homes and villages surrounding the cliff. He even searched Leaf thoroughly, as if by some miracle she had been transported home.

He couldn't stop questioning what he would do if he did find her. Would she even want to see him?

What would be the point if he found her body but not her heart?

He decided that she would have to see him whether she liked it or not, and he would possess her body whether her heart was there or not.

And so he waited for Sakura to appear in the world again. He waited and waited and waited…

One day, he decided that he had waited enough.

Life became boring once it was in the orbit of the usual routine. It was quite obvious that he needed to do something about the people that were planning on killing him for a book that he never even knew existed.

He decided to go to the Leaf to have a nice little chat with the current Hokage, and probably meet Naruto and kill him along the way.

At least, that was his plan. To stroll in to Konoha and scare everyone to death.

He was more bitter about this life than anyone had right to be. Maybe he would 'pull an Itachi' and let Naruto kill him. Maybe he would say, 'foolish little fox,' while he died.

Such sadistic humor made him chuckle. It was quite peculiar imagining the moment of his death.

He stepped into the realm of the forest, but before he could get too far, Ryuku appeared in front of him, breathless. "Master, master—Sakura San, she… she has returned!"

She had returned.

She didn't die.

She was alive.

And now she had returned.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, because he could barely believe what he had been told. "What?"

Ryuku cleared his throat and began to reiterate slowly, "Sakura San has returned to Rivers. I saw her with my own eyes—at the front gates—she didn't recognize me, she's probably still at the South Gate -"

Sasuke raced back to his village as fast as he could. Behind him Ryuku followed as best he could. As he couldn't match Sasuke in terms of speed, he called out, "I ordered Riiku to follow her!"

Sasuke ignored him. His heart was pounding so heavily in his chest; Sasuke thought it was not possible for his heart to be pounding away so fast. He hadn't felt so alive in so long. Though he was one of the fastest shinobi alive, he cursed his legs for being too slow.

She wasn't at the gates.

His eyes bled red. He wanted more than anything to go on a killing rampage.

Seeing as he was going to hell already, it hardly mattered when or how.

But then a guard said very carefully that Sakura had already entered the village.  
>Sasuke charged in.<p>

His eyes focused on the chakra that he was so familiar with. A soft kind of chakra, with colors like flower petals.

He found it. To his great pleasure he found that he was looking for. The faint chakra ahead, racing towards the edge of his territory.

He charged ahead, even though his speed far surpassed hers. He grabbed on to her ankle and threw her back towards the village, desperately willing to try anything in order to force her back to his side.

And suddenly he felt fear trickle down his spine. What if Sakura turned out to be unforgiving? Considering the things he had done to her, she would probably rather die than see him. He never quite imagined that this would be how they would meet, since he hadn't dared to imagine their reunion – that was a dream he'd deemed too farfetched to consider. He was reminded of his birthday, when he'd sat alone in the banquet hall, and he'd made a foolish wish—

Was this Kami's way of redemption?

Sakura climbed up from the ground; she was obviously in a fair amount of pain.

Annoyed, she got up from the ground and faced the man who just thrown her towards the ground.

She was his curse.

Because he was trapped. The moment he looked into her clear, green eyes, he was trapped.


	39. Chapter 39

A/N: Thank you to Miss Vampyre, who helped me tremendously on this chapter

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 39<strong>

* * *

><p>Sakura soon discovered that the indoor cave held everything they needed to survive.<p>

A small stream was flowing down from the sky window above; she also found tons of non-perishable foods and food-pills. There was also an exit to a small sunny garden that connected to the hidden brushes within the forest. Further into the cave, there was a tremendously comfortable hot spring.

Sakura tried not to go outside the cave for the first week, and then she couldn't take it anymore. The boredom of being cooped up inside that tiny little cave was driving her insane. Not to mention every time she saw Sasuke, which was quite a lot, she felt guilty. Sakura first ventured outside to collect fresh herbs and food, keeping close to the hidden entrance to the cave while masking her chakra carefully so nobody would notice her. There would be nothing worse than encountering an enemy in Sasuke's current condition.

A couple of weeks later she ventured into the nearest town, disguised as someone else, and bought some tools, medicine, weapons, and daily necessities.

Sasuke constantly slipped in and out of consciousness, and he woke up in Sakura's care a week after they had escaped into the cave. The first thing he saw was Sakura, busy running around the cave-which had already been made into a comfortable home- constantly pounding herbs, creating medicines, or preparing food. Sasuke's eyes softened at the sight of her; she brought light into his life.

He watched in amusement as she worked on the herbs, cooking soup and preparing medicine all at the same time. He wondered if this was what she would act like later, when they really were married.

She will be a wonderful wife.

This thought popped into his head and he closed his eyes and smiled. He had expected her to be his wife unconsciously almost all his life. When he thought of having an heir, she came unwittingly into his mind. Girls without pink hair were merely creatures of annoyance. So without realizing it, his lies became a truth, a reality that he began imagining for himself.

"Oh, you're awake." Sakura looked back and said, unsurprised. Recently he'd been waking up more and more often, "Here, drink some soup."

He sat up, refusing her help, and started drinking. It was a mixture of chicken and vegetables cooked into a stew for so long that every bit of the meat and vegetables were melted into tiny little pieces, the perfect thing for a recovering patient. She blew every spoonful for him, and the soup slid down his throat naturally, as if new blood had been pumped into him and he could see the colors of the world again.

"You are healing wonderfully." Sakura reported, knowing he'd ask soon anyway, "but you still need to stay in bed and be kept warm for a while. Your muscles are still regenerating so don't stretch too much. Anything you need call out to me, I'll also be observing your eyes for a while..."

"Ok." he said obediently.

Sakura looked at him and frowned.

"What's the matter?" he asked while smirking a little, tilting his head.  
>She tried to express her feelings into words that wouldn't offend him, but what came out was, "You were never this nice and happy at the same time. What are you planning?"<p>

His eyes narrowed dangerously. So this girl thought the only thing he was capable of was calculating and manipulating. In a way she saw him as the manifestation of evil.

Scared of that look in his eyes, she quickly turned way and ran a few steps outside, heading towards the little stream, where she began washing the dishes.

It wasn't Sakura's fault for thinking that he was manipulative and cunning. He is what he is, and based on past experience, she may never trust him again.

But it was sort of her fault that he was stuck in this place now.  
>Thinking back to what happened, she truly thought he was frightening. No, not his powers or his ability to show the most cruel side of himself to his enemies, but the fact that he could sacrifice himself to prove something she thought was lost a long time ago.<p>

She was scared of his confession, she was so, so scared of the weight that it carried. Sakura was never a complicated girl and all her life she dreamt of marrying Sasuke and living in a simple house where she would cook and he would go on missions. She would raise his kids and they would always be happy...

Yet at this stage in life, where Sasuke was heavily injured and the whole world wanted him dead, her dream seemed to be so far fetched, so ridiculous, that she felt like laughing at her 15 year old self.

Fool, fool, fool.

This is the kind of person he is, this is the burden and baggage that comes with him. He was an avenger, and now he is a criminal.

Truthfully, this seemed like nothing compared to what he was capable of. Sakura's true fear was what she would do if he reverted back to his old, cruel self. His love seemed like a prison, there was no freedom for anything else. She was sure if he ever suspected her of betraying him, she would be locked in a dark room forever.

If he was capable of nearly harming himself for her, he was capable of harming her to be with her.

Sakura had mixed feelings; she truly didn't know what to do anymore. Each day she made it her goal to take care of him and to think of nothing beyond that. Getting through one day at a time was enough for her.

She wanted to kick herself for being so honest. Why did she have to bring up past memories? Why didn't she just simply agree with him on whatever he was saying or planning? After everything they'd been through, she shouldn't question him, should she?

Sasuke knew she was deep in thought by the way she was washing the dishes—letting them sit under the flowing water. She sighed heavily, staring into the distance and he thought he had an idea what was running through her mind.

"Sakura." He called out, his voice cracking a little.

"Yes?" She turned around, suddenly afraid that she would be staring into crimson eyes.

His eyes were still dark, so far so good.

"I..." he started, but trailed off.

She waited for him expectantly to finish whatever he had to say.

Sasuke wanted to say something...nice, but to his frustration, he couldn't think of anything to say. In the end he became irritated, so he said crossly to Sakura, "Sakura, come here."

"Why?" Sakura asked, feeling weird.

"I want to kiss you." He said plainly.

Sasuke watched in amusement as Sakura blushed seven different shades of red. She stood in her place, not knowing whether to move or not.

"Well?" He raised an eyebrow, "come here."

She trudged over to him, snaillike in her movements, and when he could reach her he pulled her down onto the bed and kissed her roughly. His tongue traced the outline of her lips and, at her acceptance, entered her mouth, exploring every part of her.

He was afraid to lose her, so scared that...it hurt.

"I'm sorry..." he said against her lips.

His forehead was touching hers; his fingers tangled in her hair and his voice reminded her of the softest silk against her skin. His eyes looked deeply into hers, and she felt something stir inside her, something that hadn't been touched by anyone else in a long time.

For no reason at all, she burst into tears.


	40. Notice

Hi dearest reviewers! I'm alive, yes, yes, yes.

I regret to inform all that this is not the newest chapter. This story originally had 11 chapters left. But I abandoned it due to bad writing and the loopholes that are too large to fix. I know the ending, and I realize it's incredibly unfair for readers who has been following this for a while. Especially when some of my old reviewers begin to pm or review and ask me to finish it. I am currently busy with two other stories right now, and they begin because of my readers asking me to continue it or update. So I just want to make it clear that I do care-and I always reply to questions, or if one demands it.

The ending of this story is quite simple. Ultimately they end up together. I cannot bare with myself to write a tragedy. This story has a nice idea, I suppose, but it really lacks mature writing and depth. If everyone feels strongly, or care to reread this at all, I will rewrite it. Keep in mind, in a rewrite I will update as fast as I could. But I ... uh.. updating three stories weekly with each a few k word count is almost unheard of.

However, if most of you guys is just satisfied with me posting the ending, I will spend around a week to device a few thousands of words and write an ending that roughly weaves everything together. So this story has closure.

Now that I think about it, other than my one shots, I never actually finished writing a story. And I am ashamed of this to no end. I agree too many good fics are left unfinished. And I used to feel so strongly about that.

Please tell me what you think. I will decide on what to do. But rest assured, this story is going to get finished. Um.. within this summer. However it could. I promise.

Val


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